Torn
by Lenina Crowne
Summary: As much as Lorelai loved him, she was torn between letting Luke have a happy marriage and revealing her true feelings for him. [Alternate ending to epi 121]
1. Luke’s Impromptu Engagement

**Torn **_– Chapter 1_

_Luke's Impromptu Engagement_

**Disclaimer: **_If I owned these characters, I'm fairly sure that my current financial problems would no longer be considered an issue. Also, a few of the lines of dialog between Rachel and Luke belong to ASP. I have faith that you can discern those from the rest. (Oh, and this fic has nothing to do with the song _Torn_ by Natalie Imbruglia. Whatever happened to her, anyway?)_

**A/N: **_Well, this is my second _Gilmore Girls _fanfic, so if the characters seem a bit OoC, I'm working on it. This is an alternate ending to the Luke/Rachel plot in episode 121, _Love, Daises, and Troubadours_. In order for this to work, you must understand that, since Rachel didn't actually leave, Luke never came over when Max and Lorelai were about to leave on their date. Therefore, Max never got all possessively jealous and asked Lorelai to marry him, and Lorelai definitely never lost her head in a dream-induced-stupor and agreed to said heinous proposal. In other words, Max is still around, but not engaged to Lorelai. Oh and Dean and Rory did get back together, although that's not important for this series. I might make mention to Dean from time to time, but I don't want to get into the Rory drama. In addition, there's no Jess. As much as I love the hoodlum, his presence would open a whole other can of worms. That said, if anyone is still following me, well, all the power to you, my friend!_

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* * *

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"Rachel, come on!"

Luke's heart pounded unmercifully in his chest. This wasn't happening; it could _not _be happening. He was drawing a complete blank as to what to do or say. Instead, numbly, he watched Rachel leave his life again. Was it once and for all, this time? Did he want that? No, he couldn't want that; he didn't want that. He liked her. A lot. Yeah, he liked her a lot. He wanted to have her around. It was… nice. It was nice and comforting. It was familiar. Having her around was _familiar_. Talking to Rachel in the mornings, sensing her presence as she worked beside him – that was all comfortably familiar. Even watching her walk out the door and out of his life was familiar, although, in actuality, this time, it was a completely different situation.

For once, she wasn't leaving for her own benefit, but she was leaving _because_ of him. He had caused this rapidly approaching abandonment without even realizing he had done so. Suddenly, he was gripped by panic. Luke didn't want to have that guilt hanging over his head! Besides, it wasn't as if he had a chance with Lorelai. She was, well, Lorelai. And she was dating that teacher from Rory's school – the preppy guy with the phony smile and the constant Lorelai-_touching_. What was up with that, anyway? Nevertheless, Luke reminded himself as Rachel turned the doorknob, he had no chance with Lorelai; not that he wanted a chance with her. But even if he did, she was madly in love with Max. Plus, Luke wanted Rachel, not Lorelai.

Rachel had paused and, as Luke was brought back, crashing headfirst into reality, he saw her lips form words. He stared blankly for a moment, before registering what she had said.

"So, don't wait too long, okay?"

"To what?" he asked, baffled.

"To tell her."

Luke stared in amazement as Rachel shifted her luggage, almost as if she was giving him a chance to respond. However, his mind was again drawing a complete blank, so she walked out the door without another word, as the bells above jingled merrily in her wake. He continued to stare, watching her retreating figure through the window of his diner. Before he could register it, his legs were dragging him outside and he jogged to catch up with Rachel, grabbing her by the wrist. She hesitated briefly, before turning to face Luke. By the light of the moon and streetlamps, he could just barely make out the tears running down her cheeks. His heart broke just a little bit, as he took in a deep breath and licked his dry lips to speak.

"Don't leave," he said in a strangled tone.

"Luke…"

"No, you don't know what you're saying! No," he repeated, "I don't have feelings for her. I only have feelings for _you_."

"I want to believe you, Luke, but –"

"Marry me," he blurted out.

Rachel's eyes widened. "What?"

"Marry me," he declared with more certainty.

"Luke, this is crazy. I can't –"

"I'll get you a ring first thing tomorrow morning. I can get down on one knee if you want, but you know how much I hate that fruity stuff, so I'd rather not…"

"Luke."

"Unless you want me to. If you want me to get down on one knee, I'll do it, even though it's ridiculous."

"Luke," she repeated.

"Okay, I'll do it," Luke continued, releasing her wrist and getting down on one knee. "Rachel, ah, this is dumb. No, okay, Rachel –"

"LUKE!"

"What?"

"Get up."

"What?" he asked dumbly.

"Come on, get up." Rachel grabbed his hands and tugged, helping him to his feet. She cocked her head to the side, studying him with a puzzled expression on her face. Luke remained silent the entire time, his heart pounding wildly against his ribcage. "Why?" she finally whispered.

"Why what?"

"Why are you asking me to marry you?"

Luke stared at her, his mouth hanging open as he processed the situation. "I – don't know, exactly… I just – it feels right, ya know? It just… feels like something I need to do."

"I see." Rachel paused and licked her lips. She shifted the luggage on her shoulder again, watching him with a slight frown on her face. "I want to believe you…"

He nodded vigorously. "You _can _believe me."

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders as she did so. For a moment, she silently covered her face with her hands. Luke stared at her expectantly. "Okay, Luke."

"Okay?" he repeated blankly.

"Yes." She paused, struggling, as he watched her curiously. "I'll… marry you."

He exhaled loudly. "Good. That's, uh, good. You know that I'm not lying. I really only have feelings for –"

"I know," she replied quietly, looking down at the pavement.

He paused for a moment, regarding her with a furrowed brow. When she didn't add anything more, Luke said, "Good. Ah, let's get back, okay?"

Rachel nodded as Luke took the duffle bag from her, guiding her back to his apartment. Although Rachel had said yes to his marriage proposal, he could not fight off the nervous energy that filtered through his veins. It was a lot to take in. Hell, he had just been worried about her moving the milk and now, there he was, _engaged_. It was insane! And yet, it was okay – at that moment, anyway. Tonight, he wouldn't think about anything except keeping Rachel close to him. Tonight, he would celebrate.

They reached the diner and Luke dumped her bags on the floor beside the door, before locking it. He then turned to her. She was smiling nervously at him, and he smiled back, blushing slightly. Yes, he decided; tonight, he would celebrate. There would be plenty of time to contemplate his bout of insanity tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai shrugged off her light jacket as she took a seat at the counter of Luke's Diner. She let her head slump down as she stared at the countertop. She was exhausted and _definitely_ regretting her choice to stay up until 2 AM talking to Max on the phone after he'd returned home from the town meeting last night. She had attempted to get off hours earlier, but every time she tried, he would say something persuasive enough to convince her stay just a little while longer. Lorelai sighed, lifting her head slightly and looking around the room curiously. When she didn't spot Luke, a slight crease appeared on her forehead and she pouted a bit; she wanted her coffee! _This is like the twilight zone or something_, she thought to herself, standing up slightly to catch a glimpse of the kitchen. Still no Luke. This was very weird, indeed. Luke _never _missed the breakfast rush. Suddenly, Caesar bustled out of the kitchen with four plates balanced haphazardly on his arms, and he placed them down at various tables. Lorelai attempted to get his attention, but he just retreated to the kitchen without a second glance. She sighed and let her head drop to the counter again. 

The bells above the door jingled as another customer walked inside. Lorelai was aware of someone standing behind her, but she was too tired to move. "'Mornin', Hun."

Slowly, Lorelai lifted her head and smiled weakly at Miss Patty. "Hey, Patty. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine," she replied distractedly. "But boy, do I have some gossip for you!"

Lorelai perked up slightly. "Do you?"

"Oh yes. _Very _juicy gossip."

"Do tell!"

"Well, you know Luke…"

"Stubbly-chinned man that's having an affair with flannel? I think I've seen him around before…"

"Well, you're not going to _believe _what he did this morning…"

"Joined the Navy?"

"I wish." She paused in a pensive daze for a moment, as Lorelai looked on, amused. "He bought an engagement ring!"

Lorelai thought Patty was going to tell her that Luke finally kicked Kirk out of the diner or stole Taylor's Revolutionary War hat. Instead, she felt as if someone had dropped a few tons of bricks onto her head. She had not been expecting to hear that Luke bought an engagement ring! "What?"

"Yes, I spotted him and Rachel leaving the jewelry store - fourteen carat, three diamonds!" exclaimed Patty approvingly. Lorelai began to laugh. At first, it was just a subdued giggle, but it quickly gave way to a fit of uncontrollable, hysterical laughter. Patty watched Lorelai with a puzzled look on her face. She frowned slightly and placed a sympathetic hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "Are you okay, Dear?"

"What?" she asked, a hint of laughter still present in her tone. "Of course I'm okay. I'm just laughing at the thought of Luke getting hitched! I mean, who would've thought?" She cocked her head to the side suspiciously. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Well, no reason in particular," replied Patty carefully. "It's just, you and Luke have that… thing."

"Right." Lorelai paused. "What thing?"

"Well, you two are close."

"Yes…"

"And well, there's always been that… _thing_."

"Right," she replied skeptically, "we covered the thing."

Patty sighed. "Never you mind, Lorelai."

"Okay…"

"I'm gonna go," she pointed to a table behind her, "sit over there. I didn't mean to offend you…"

"I'm not offended." Off Patty's skeptical look, Lorelai added, "Really, I'm not. Thanks for letting me know."

Patty nodded and slowly made her way to the table. Lorelai watched vacantly for a few moments, before turning her attention toward the stairs to Luke's apartment. Luke was going to get _married_? It couldn't be true, it just couldn't! _It's Luke! _She said to herself. It was pretty ridiculous to picture Luke married. After all, he had just spent the past few days hiding from Rachel at Lorelai's house. And true, Lorelai _had _advised him to go back and make things better with Rachel, but surely he couldn't have taken her advice to mean get married… could he have?

No, Lorelai told herself forcefully. Luke would never get married without contemplating it first. Yes, once in a while Luke could hastily jump to certain conclusions when enraged, but, in general, he wasn't an irrational man. He wouldn't have just asked Rachel to marry him on a whim. He would have taken time to think about the repercussions; perhaps even time to discuss the decision with someone close to him, like herself… wouldn't he have? After all, they were friends. Good friends, even. Surely, he would have at least hinted to it…

Lorelai was jolted from her thoughts when she heard heavy footsteps on the apartment stairs. She exhaled loudly and tapped her fingers against the counter, pretending to merely be waiting impatiently for coffee. She looked up, giving Luke her best 'desperate for coffee' stare, and watched as he passed behind the counter and entered the kitchen. She waited, lifting herself off the stool just a tad in order to get a better view of the kitchen. Luke piled scrambled eggs onto a single plate, grabbed two slices of wheat bread, and quickly bustled through the diner and back up to his apartment. Lorelai frowned at his apparent loss of interest in his business, biting her bottom lip anxiously as she strained her ears to hear any sounds from the apartment overhead.

After a minute of hearing nothing, she covered her face with her hands and sighed heavily. She was being silly! Sure, she was a bit hurt that Luke didn't tell her about his engagement – that was, if it was actually true (Miss Patty was only _usually _right about these things, not _always_) – but this reaction of hers was bordering 'selfish Lorelai' territory. _Okay_, she reminded herself, _this is _his _life, not mine. I just have to give him space. _She nodded slightly at that revelation, realizing that it really did make sense. However, she couldn't quite get rid of that nagging feeling that she really should be upset about the whole situation, especially Luke's lack of detail-sharing.

Lorelai had become so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed Rory enter the diner until she heard her daughter call to her.

She blinked a few times at Rory before answering with a distracted, "Hmm?"

"Is everything okay?"

"What? Of course everything's okay."

"Okay," replied Rory skeptically. She paused. "How long have you been here?"

"I dunno, ten minutes?"

"Where's your coffee?"

Lorelai scowled. "Didn't get any."

"What?"

"Yeah, Luke's been up there -" she pointed at the ceiling -"the entire time."

"Oh my God, he wasn't downstairs for the morning rush?" questioned Rory, outraged.

"No! Well, he came down for a minute, grabbed a plate of food, and went back up again without saying anything to anyone! I really want some coffee, damnit! Stupid diner man," she grumbled as an afterthought, before going behind the counter to pour herself and Rory some coffee.

"Wow. I don't think I remember a morning without Luke being down here."

"Yeah," agreed Lorelai with a sigh, "me neither."

"What do you think this means?"

Lorelai swallowed hard and forced herself to meet her daughter's eyes. "That things are going to be _very_ different now."

"Well…" said Rory hesitantly, "maybe it's just a one-time thing. Maybe Luke's feeling sick or something."

"Yeah," Lorelai agreed distractedly, glancing at the apartment stairs again. "That's got to be it." However, Lorelai struggled futilely to ignore the incessant voice in the back of her mind that was screaming just the opposite.

_TBC…?_

**A/N: **_I promise this won't be like Luke and Nicole's marriage. For one thing, I actually like Rachel. Gasp, I know, I'm a traitor. I like Lorelai more though! A review to let me know if this is worth continuing to post would be nice. Thank you for reading! (Oh, if you know anything about the book _Candide _by Voltaire,__ especially anything involving the types of satire, and want to write an essay for me, I will love you forever! Just kidding… maybe.)_


	2. The Lorelai Explosion

**Torn **_– Chapter 2_

_The Lorelai Explosion_

**A/N: **_WOW! I have _never _received so many reviews for a single chapter of a fanfic before. Thanks SO much for the feedback! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who really likes Rachel. (Anyone else LOVE Digger? It's not that I love him with Lorelai, I just think he's hilariously quirky.) Also, I now know that Natalie Imbruglia does, in fact, have a new CD out and I apologize for not being up on her whereabouts. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this chapter to my very good friend Danielle as an apology for being a shitty friend and thinking, for all this time, that she's a year younger than she actually is. In addition, this is a dedication to the all-around amazingness that is you, my genius gg girl! You are best and I want to have all of your flannel-wearing babies! (It may not be possible now, but we'll figure it out eventually, damnit!) Have I scared you all away now?

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Lorelai entered the kitchen of the inn later that morning, and immediately poured herself a cup of coffee. She sighed and took a sip, leaning against the counter and suppressing a grin as a frustrated Sookie instructed one of the chefs on how to chop carrots. Absentmindedly, she began to think of Luke and Rachel. She pictured that day in the movie theater, when Luke had finally decided to give Rachel another chance. It was the first act of open affection she had ever witnessed from Luke, bar the quick, but well-meaning hug he had given her at the hospital during the Christmas season, when her father had fallen ill. Lorelai wasn't sure why she had thought of that random moment in time; yet she could not shake the image of Luke and Rachel cuddling in the front row of the theater from her head, his nose resting against Rachel's forehead in the intimate moment. Suddenly, Sookie looked up at Lorelai and smiled, patting the chef on the back as she moved away from him. Lorelai watched the relief flood across the unfortunate man's face as she shook herself from her previous thoughts.

"Hey, you're here early!" enthused Sookie.

Lorelai looked down at her watch curiously. "It's not that early."

"Yeah, but usually you don't come in for coffee for another hour or so… rough morning?"

"What? No, not a rough morning. I was just in the mood for coffee."

"Uh huh."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Sookie…"

Sookie laughed. "Honey, you forget that I know you better than anyone… except Rory, of course," she added as an afterthought.

"Yeah, so?"

"_So_… I can tell when you're upset."

"Well, your Lorelai meter must be _way _off because I'm fine."

"Okay," said Sookie, putting her hands up in mock defense. "No need to get all Nicolas Cage on me."

"Nicolas Cage?"

"Yeah, you know, like in _Moonstruck_ with the missing hand?"

"Ugh, don't remind me." She paused, a mocking smile creeping onto her face.

Sookie giggled. "So… you're fine?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good."

"Good," Lorelai agreed.

Sookie began to fiddle with some pots on the counter, so Lorelai turned to leave, but stopped when Sookie called her name. "Did you hear about… Luke?"

"What about Luke?"

"Well… he and Rachel, they, um…"

"They got engaged. Yeah, I heard the rumor."

"And you're okay with this?"

"It's just a rumor, Sook."

"Yeah, but… it sounds like it's true to me."

Lorelai shrugged. "Good for them."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Why does everyone think I'd have a problem with this?"

"Well, you and Luke, um…"

"Have a thing?" she offered.

"Yes, exactly!"

Lorelai groaned. "Enough with the stupid thing! There is _no _thing!"

"All right, sorry. But there is _totally _a thing," she muttered under her breath.

"Sookie," groaned Lorelai in a warning tone.

"Fine, fine, there's no thing! So, you're okay with the engagement, then… I mean, if there is one?"

"If it's what Luke wants, then I'm fine with it."

"Oh Lorelai!" cried Sookie, pulling a shocked Lorelai into a sudden hug. Lorelai hugged her friend back hesitantly, a confused look on her face. When Sookie pulled away, Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Are _you _okay with this?"

"What? Oh!" She giggled. "No, no, no, that's not… I'm just… I was worried that you would be upset. But you're not!"

"Nope!" Lorelai replied with fake enthusiasm.

"Good."

"Yes, we covered that."

"Right." Sookie grinned at Lorelai, before turning back to her cooking.

Lorelai stood silently in the kitchen for a few moments, biting her lip, before saying, "Hey, um, Sookie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think it's true?"

Sookie paused, turning to Lorelai with a frown on her face. "Yeah, Hon, I really do."

Lorelai nodded slowly and whispered, "Good. Good for them. They should be happy. Hey, I gotta go - lots of work to do. I'll be back in an hour for the next cup of coffee, so keep it warm for me."

Sookie nodded sympathetically, squeezing her friend's hand reassuringly before Lorelai left the kitchen. Sookie sighed and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, before beginning to work again.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the diner, a small group of townsfolk had situated themselves around the counter as they fired an unrelenting stream of questions at Luke and Rachel about their spontaneous engagement. Rachel smiled and dodged the personal questions expertly, saying all the right things without revealing too much. On the other hand, Luke, for his part, managed to perfect the art of the 'don't you dare ask me anything' scowl that he so often wore around these people. He had succeeded in warding off all questions directed at him, alone, so far, and Luke was just about to slip into the kitchen when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Luke groaned and turned sharply to face Kirk. 

"What is it, _Kirk_?"

"I just wanted to extend my congratulations to you. Marriage is a lovely thing."

"Really," Luke deadpanned.

"Oh yeah. Mother says it's the best thing she's even done."

"That's great, Kirk. Is that all?"

"No, not exactly. Luke, I was just wondering… well, you know about my love of the art of photography?"

Luke began to count on his fingers as he asked, "What happened to your love for woman's hairstyling, your love for candy apple making, your love for video rentals, your love for -?"

Kirk cleared his throat uncomfortably. "This is in addition to all of the above and more."

"Okay, photography. Can we hurry this up? I'm busy trying to run a _business_ here."

"Right, I was just hoping that you would let me photograph your wedding."

"Ah, jeez, Kirk! I just got engaged last night; we haven't even chosen a date, for crying outloud!"

"Please, Luke?" begged Kirk. "I don't need an official date yet, I just want your word that I can do it…"

"Kirk…"

"And a small deposit."

"KIRK!"

"It'll just be a bit of a guarantee."

"I can think of about 500 other ways to guarantee you," Luke growled, leaning over the counter toward Kirk.

"Fine, fine," said Kirk, backing away in defense. "I'll just… come back in a few days."

"A few _months_, Kirk!' he demanded, before finally retreating to the kitchen for some peace.

However, he found no such solace, for, as he began to cook, he could still hear everything that was going on in the diner. The group of people at the counter seemed to grow thicker, louder, and, of course, more obnoxious by the second. He wondered how long it would be before their heads exploded from all the gossip they were retaining. Sighing, he resigned himself to listening to the stomach-wrenching exchanges as he grilled hamburgers in silence.

"So…" he heard Babette gush, "how did it happen? How did he propose?"

"Did he get down on one knee?" added Miss Patty eagerly. "I _love _when the man gets down on one knee! Those are the best marriages, too," she added with a knowing wink.

"Luke down on one knee?" Taylor practically snorted. "I can hardly imagine that."

Rachel chuckled. "Refills on coffee, anyone?"

"Aww, she's respecting Luke's privacy. What a doll! These two were really meant to be together, don't you think?"

"Oh sure, they're –" Babette paused. "Oh hello, Lorelai, sugar!"

Luke whirled around suddenly, glancing nervously out the door just in time to see Lorelai's puzzled expression as she slowly approached the counter. "What's going on here?"

Babette and Patty exchanged worried glances. "Oh just a little chatting about the… engagement, you know."

Lorelai nodded and forced a smile on her face. She threw her purse down on the counter before sitting on a stool. "Coffee?" she requested, and Rachel immediately poured some for her. "Ah, beautiful, thanks! Okay, continue with the engagement talk! I didn't mean to let my coffee addiction get in the way…"

"Oh, please, it didn't," Rachel said with a smile. She then leaned over the counter and whispered, "I needed a way to get them off my back, so thanks."

Lorelai smiled. "Anytime. So hey, let me see that ring, baby!"

Rachel regarded Lorelai for a moment, biting her lip nervously. However, Lorelai was looking back at Rachel eagerly, so she held out her left hand toward Lorelai, a grin slowly breaking out upon her face. "Oh wow, it's beautiful." She looked up at Rachel with questioning eyes. "Did Luke pick it out for you? 'Cos I can't really picture him as the… beautiful jewelry picker-outter, you know?"

Rachel snorted. "Please. I did the choosing, he did the buying."

"As it's meant to be."

"Cheers to that."

Lorelai forced a smile at Rachel again, before Rachel excused herself to wait on a few tables. She then sipped her coffee absently as she watched the group of town gossipers slowly dissipate, wondering how long it was going to be before people would stop making a big deal out of this whole situation. Maybe then she wouldn't think about it so much! She hadn't been able to stop thinking about it since she had found out that morning, and she was sure that all the talk about the engagement was largely to blame. However, what she really wanted to do was talk to Luke about the whole ordeal… after all, he was her friend and she was still insulted that he hadn't told her. Where was he hiding, anyway?

"LUKE!" Lorelai bellowed with a grin, after spotting him in the kitchen. "LUKE, GET OUT HERE!"

"I'm busy!" he called back.

"Just for a second!"

"No."

"Fine," she said, jumping off the stool and walking behind the counter. She grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself another cup-full, before picking it up off the table and heading back toward the kitchen. However, before she got the chance to enter, Luke emerged, looking stern.

"You can't go back there."

"Why not?"

"Rules."

"Your rules?"

"No, health department rules. Do you want this place to get shut down?"

She gasped. "But what about the coffee?"

"Exactly."

"Okay, fine," she pouted. "I'll return to my stool like a loser and wait for you to come out."

"Thank you."

"Although, now that you're out here…"

Luke groaned. Apparently, she wasn't going to let him avoid her. Not that he had any reason to avoid her, per se. It was just that he didn't know how to act around her after Rachel's accusations last night. Even after their time apart, Rachel knew him well enough to see right through him, and Luke wasn't sure he had completely convinced Rachel that he didn't have feelings for Lorelai. But he didn't have feelings for Lorelai. _I don't_, he told himself. _It's just Lorelai - annoying, rambling, caffeine-addicted Lorelai. _He could deal with that. After all, he dealt with her everyday. "All right, Lorelai, you've got a minute. Go."

"Okay. Is it just me or was Tom Cruise better in _Mission Impossible _than he was in _Jerry Maguire_? I mean, I guess they're two very different movies, both famous, of course, but - "

"Cut to the chase, Lorelai, I'm busy."

"You're avoiding me."

Luke paused, fixing her with a confused look. "What?"

"You're avoiding me," she repeated.

"No, I'm not."

She cocked her head to the side, a slight smile present on her lips. "You saw me this morning and you just walked past me."

"I was busy."

"You couldn't even say hi?"

"Saying hi to you means enlisting myself to at least 20 minutes of listening to unashamed, incoherent, caffeine-induced rambling."

"You didn't even mention your engagement to me," she said quietly.

"Yeah, well, I told you – I've been busy."

"Well, I just thought you'd want to tell your friends. But hey, what do I know? Silly me for thinking we were _friends_."

"Jeez, Lorelai. We're friends."

"Yeah well, shitty way to treat a friend! I mean, you could've at least mentioned you were planning on asking! We were just talking about your relationship the other day! Don't I deserve that much?"

Luke whirled around, pointing a finger at her. "No! Just because you're my friend and I confided in you once, doesn't mean I have to braid your hair and share secrets over the camp fire with you!"

"You can braid hair?"

"Lorelai…"

"I'd really love to see that! Are you really a woman in disguise? Oh, are you a lesbian? That would _totally _explain the flannel."

"Hey, I'm _sorry _that you feel I owe you something, but this is _my _relationship, not yours!"

"Hey, if it weren't for me, there wouldn't even_ be _a relationship to have!"

Luke just stared at her for a few moments, rendered speechless by anger, before replying in an even tone, "No, if it weren't for you, things would be a _hell _of a lot different."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, just stay out of my business, okay? I'm sorry if the idea of me getting engaged makes you angry, but I can't be your coffee boy forever!"

"Hey…"

"Whatever, Lorelai. I'm not certified in crazy, I don't know what the hell is going on in your head."

"I just thought we were friends, that's all. I would tell you if I got engaged!"

Luke laughed bitterly. "I'd like to see that happen first!"

Lorelai, along with the rest of the diner, froze after Luke's harsh comment. Lorelai's mouth hung open for a few moments, as the hurt become apparent in her eyes. Suddenly, he felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"Oh, Lorelai, I didn't mean it like –"

"Yes, you did. But that's okay… You know, I have a boyfriend."

"I know."

"And we're _very _happy together. So I'm sorry if I'm not doing a happy dance for you, but I just thought, as your friend, you'd want to confide in me before making a huge decision that has the potential to make or break two people's lives. But you know, what do I know about relationships? All of mine end up in the garbage along with the scripts to the forth and fifth _Look Who's Talking_ movies." Lorelai struggled to stand, grabbing her purse from the counter. "I have to go." She turned to Rachel, who was pretending to busy herself with pouring Kirk another cup of coffee. "Congratulations, Rachel. I'll see you later."

With that, Lorelai calmly exited the diner, leaving everyone inside to watch with wide eyes as she walked down the street and out of view.

* * *

**A/N: **_TBC soon… unless, of course, high school finally has its way and I, you know, die. I hope that this chapter has help up to your expectations. Please review if you feel inclined to do so – encouragement is lovely, as are suggestions on improvement (Lord knows I need them). Thank you!_


	3. Good for Advice

**Torn **_– Chapter 3_

_Good for Advice _

**A/N: **_Again, I am overwhelmed by the feedback I have received. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your kind words are honestly the most inspiring out there! I'm glad that I haven't completely ruined the characters… and hopefully I won't in the future, heh. _

_A few individual review responses: _**Muffin Is Injured** _(AKA the reviewer with multiple personalities): I apologize that I was not clear by Luke's statement. It made sense to me at the time because, well, I wrote it. ;) But now that I've re-read it, I can see how it can be construed as unclear. What I meant by "I'd like to see that happen first!" was that he's implying that the chances of her getting engaged, in general, are slim, based on her previous track record, relationship-wise. And please, never _ever _apologize for rambling - I enjoyed your review a lot. I'm quite a rambler myself, as I have tried _not _to demonstrate in these A/N's. (And I think I've failed, for the most part. Sorry to those who hate long A/N's!) _**Nycgirl**: _While this fic was nothing but an idealistic dream, I considered bringing Jess into the picture. However, after careful deliberation, I decided it would just add a completely different conflict that would not enrich the main plot. Personally, I'm not a fan of 500 chapter fics with a lot of different plots. I agree though – it would certainly be interesting to see Jess and Rachel interact - although they would probably tolerate each other a little more than Jess and Lorelai did, on the show. ;) _

* * *

"You're not going to do this again, are you?" asked Rory as she clasped a gold heart necklace around Lorelai's neck. Lorelai was holding her hair up with one hand, and tried to turn to look at Rory, but stopped when she realized that she couldn't. 

"Do what?"

"You know, get all mad at Luke and not let us go for coffee tomorrow morning."

Lorelai succeeding in turning this time, and grabbed her daughter's cheek with her spare hand, pinching it. "You're so cute!"

"Don't do that!" cried Rory, smacking her mother's hand away from her face. Rory quickly rubbed her face where a pink blotch resembling the shape of her mother's fingers was beginning to form.

Lorelai giggled and dropped her hair, letting it hit her partially bare back, before smoothing her hands down her black dress. "Time?"

"7:01."

"Wow, I'm early."

"Surprising."

"I know!" Lorelai grinned mischievously. "I guess this means I have time for some coffee…"

Rory groaned. "Mom, do you really want to have coffee breath on your date?"

She grinned again, this time while biting her lip. "Who doesn't want coffee breath ontheir date?"

"Never mind, forget I asked."

Lorelai bounced down the stairs and slid into the kitchen, grabbing the coffee pot from its place in the machine and filling it with water. Rory entered soon after, standing in the doorway and watching her mother inquisitively. After a minute, Lorelai noticed her daughter's pensive gaze and looked up curiously. "May I help you?"

"You didn't answer my question before."

"Oh, sorry. Yes, if I could do it again, I _would _wear those fishnet stockings to the Wagners' dinner party."

"Mom," Rory groaned.

"The look on my mother's face was _priceless_," said Lorelai, smiling smugly at the memory.

"Mom!"

"Yes?" she asked innocently. "Oh, coffee's ready!"

"Are we going to avoid Luke's again?" Rory attempted, a hint of exasperation present in her tone.

Lorelai sighed. "I don't know, Hon. Let's see how I feel tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," she replied carefully. "Permission to express my opinion, Sir?"

Lorelai frowned. "Permission granted."

"I think Luke was just upset. You both said some things you didn't mean…"

"You weren't there."

"Yes, but between Patty, Kirk, Babette, and, oddly enough, Mrs. Kim, I think I've gotten the gist of it."

"Rory…"

"You know how Luke gets when he's upset… he says things he doesn't mean. Besides, I heard he apologized."

"Rory, can we _please _not talk about this now?"

"I know you're upset about his engagement, but –"

"Look, I'm not upset, okay? I just wish he'd told me, that's all."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why?' Because he's my friend!"

"So?"

"So… what part of 'he's my friend' don't you understand?"

"_So_ he doesn't _have_ to share every minute detail of his life with you."

"I know _that_," Lorelai huffed.

"So, why are you upset?"

She sighed again. "I just am; that's all."

"Sure. Could it possibly be because you and Luke –"

"If you say have a _thing_, I'm putting you up for adoption."

"I was going to say that you and Luke are close, but thanks for the warning," Rory deadpanned.

"Yes, it _is_ because we're close. I mean, I thought he'd –" Lorelai paused when the doorbell rang. "Oh shoot," she said sarcastically, "that's Max. I'd better get the door."

"Mom…"

"Oops, can't talk now, gotta run! Have a good time with Dean tonight, don't do anything I would do!"

Before Rory could say anything else, Lorelai ran toward the front of the house, pausing only to grab her high heels that she'd left sitting on the bottom step, before opening the door.

"Hey Lore –"

"C'mon," urged Lorelai, pushing Max out the door. "Let's get a move-on, we're gonna be late!"

"But the movie doesn't start for –"

"Another ten minutes, right, let's go!" She turned around on the porch and called, "Bye Rory, be home by 11!" before shutting the door and practically pulling Max down the steps and toward his car.

* * *

Lorelai stared down at her plate, pushing the pasta from one side of the dish to the other with her fork. In the back of her mind, Lorelai felt guilty for ruining their date with her sullenness, but she couldn't help it. The conversation between she and Max had ended long ago, and the comfortable Italian restaurant contained the perfect atmosphere for some heavy-duty thinking. Max looked up from his dinner and frowned, studying Lorelai carefully. He then reached across the table and grabbed her wrist to keep her fork from moving. She looked up, startled. 

"What's wrong?" he wondered.

"Nothing."

"Not hungry?"

"Not really…"

"Is this a first?" he asked with an amused smirk on his face.

Lorelai mock-gasped. "Are you implying that I eat a lot?"

"Well, if the shoe fits…"

"Why, Max Medina, I am _insulted_! I ought to just walk off right now and leave you pathetic and alone! However, I am _much_ too nice to do such a cruel thing."

"Well, I am eternally grateful for your kindness."

"The pleasure's all mine," she replied in a sultry tone.

Max grinned. "You know, that's not going to get me to drop the whole 'you haven't eaten any of your dinner and you've hardly spoken since we got here' pursuit."

"Can't blame a girl for trying."

"Lorelai," said Max sternly.

"It's nothing, Max, really."

"Well, if it's making this date unenjoyable for you in any way, then it's certainly something. After all, I must say, I know from experience that I make _great_ dinner company."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Eaten a lot of meals alone, have you?"

He chuckled. "I guess you could say that."

"I… well, I just had a silly fight and I keep thinking about it, that's all."

"A fight with Rory?"

"No."

"Your mom?"

"I'm always fighting with my mom, that's nothing new."

"All right, well, are you going to at least give me a hint?"

"It's a friend."

"Ah, so… Sookie?"

Lorelai was about to say no, but she quickly stopped herself, studying Max carefully. Suddenly, she found herself confronted by two paths; she had to choose her response quickly: yes, or no? She could lie and say it was Sookie, and there would be no talk of how she was being jealous and possessive of Luke, or she could tell the truth and risk insulting Max by mentioning another man on their date. She sighed inwardly, wanting nothing but to avoid yet another argument. _Huh._ _I guess it's not really a tough decision, after all. _"Yep... Sookie."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lorelai," he said sympathetically, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"It might make you feel better."

"I doubt it."

"Just give it a try?"

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders in defeat. "Well, she decided to ask Jackson to, um, marry her, without telling me. And, yeah, I know that it's her relationship, she can do whatever she wants, yada, yada, yada, but I just wish she would've _told me_ first. I mean, we're best friends and, while we don't tell each other every little thing, we tell each other those types of life-changing things, you know? I don't understand why she wouldn't tell me first, right when the thought popped into her head."

"Well, would you have told her not to?"

"Not to…?"

"Not to marry him."

Lorelai contemplated this: would she have advised Luke not to marry Rachel? She really wasn't sure what she would have done. "Well… I guess I would have told her to do what she thought was right."

"But if she was trying to decide, wouldn't she have asked for your opinion, thus rendering your 'do what you think is right' advice null?"

"Well," she replied tightly, "I guess if she insisted on my opinion, I would've told her not to get engaged."

"Why?"

"Because it's too soon! She's only just starting to date Jackson, how does she know that he's the one? Maybe that perfect person is right there, staring her in the face, but she can't see him because she's been blinded by Jackson's colorful fruit and…" Noticing Max's astonished look, Lorelai trailed off, feeling ridiculous about her tirade.

"I didn't know you felt so strongly against Jackson."

She sighed. "I don't. I really like Jackson. We're friends, I think, but I'm… not so sure he's right for Sookie."

Max laughed. "Have you _seen _the two of them together? They're like two peas in a pod… literarily."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lorelai forced a chuckle. "I was just being silly."

"That's okay; it happens to the best of us." He grinned, before sobering. "You know, maybe she didn't tell you because she was afraid you'd talk her out of it."

Lorelai paused; she hadn't thought of that before! "Hmm. That makes sense, actually."

"Yeah?" Max smiled. "So, don't be so hard on her or yourself, okay? You two will be fine. You'll both be very happy, both together… and apart…" Max wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Lorelai to giggle. She then stood and leaned across the table to quickly kiss him on the lips, before sitting back down and shoveling a fork-full of pasta into her mouth.

* * *

Luke entered his apartment and sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily before plopping down at the kitchen table. Rachel looked up from the pictures she was contemplating, giving him a warm smile. 

"Tired?"

"Exhausted."

"Well, it was a long and weird day."

He chuckled slightly. "Yeah, it was."

A teapot began to whistle, causing Luke to turn around. Rachel climbed out of her chair and poured the hot water into two mugs. "You want some tea?"

"Yeah, green tea? Thanks."

"Sounds good, I think I'll have that, too."

She handed him a mug, and he nodded as thanks before unwrapping the teabag and letting it soak in the water. After a few moments, she did the same, before stirring the contents with a spoon. Luke eyed her curiously. "You don't have to stir the tea, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but, well… it gives me something to do."

"Ah."

Luke grabbed the string on the teabag and shook it around inhis cup for a few moments, before removing the bag completely from the mug and placing it on top of the teabag's discarded wrapper. Then, he lifted the tea to his lips and took a careful sip, wincing slightly as the hot liquid burned the inside of his mouth. When he placed the tea back onto the table, he was startled to find Rachel studying him intently. He tilted his head to the side, slightly annoyed by the awkwardness that seemed to have attached itself to her gaze. Upon noticing his glare, she quickly looked down at her tea, but Luke knew she had been staring at him for a reason. It would only be a matter of time before she began to speak her mind. However, he knew from her hesitation that whatever it was that she had to say was making her nervous. He did not like to think of what might make someone like Rachel nervous.

"Luke…" she said quietly, pulling him out of his reverie. He looked up, locking eyes with Rachel as she bit down nervously on her tongue before speaking. "Well, I just wanted to, uh, make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," he answered tightly, "thanks."

"Okay, good, good." She forced a smile onto her face. Luke took a long gulp of the now slightly cooler tea, before Rachel spoke again. "It's just, well, if there was something bothering you, you'd let me know, right?"

"Of course."

"So, your little outburst today at the diner –"

"There was no outburst."

"Just a little one."

"There was _no _outburst," he repeated sternly.

"Okay. Well, about the little whatever-you-want-to-call-it that happened at the diner today between you and Lorelai…" Luke merely grunted in response, gulping down the last of his tea in a few angry swigs. "I don't want you to feel that you can't be friends with Lorelai anymore because of what I said last night. Don't worry; I'm not going to pop up in closets spying on you and such. I'm not like that, Luke, and you know it. I trust you."

"I know."

"If you know that, then there should be no problem between you and Lorelai."

"That's not the reason Lorelai and I had our… disagreement today. She was just being Lorelai and I wasn't in the mood to listen to one of her selfish rants, that's all."

"That's not true and you know it."

"No, she was angry that I didn't tell her about our engagement before it happened. Like that's any of her damn business, anyway," he grumbled, taking his mug to the sink and beginning to wash it out.

"Did you explain that it was just a spur-of-the-moment type thing?"

"No, but why should I? It's my business, not hers."

"Okay, yeah, Luke, I see what you're saying and I agree. But I can also sortasee Lorelai's side…"

He turned sharply to face her with accusing eyes. "WHAT?"

"Luke, calm down," she soothed, placing an arm on his shoulder. "I'm not siding with her: I'm neutral here. I just want to help you, that's all."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine; you're fighting with one of your best friends."

"She's not –"

"Luke, there's no need to cover it up. I know you two are close and I'm not going to get in the way of that, so you shouldn't let anything else get in the way of your friendship, either. Besides," she added thoughtfully, "I really like Lorelai. Hell, she's the closest I've got to a friend in this place, aside from you, of course," she added, flashing him a grin.

Luke placed the now clean mug upside-down on the dish rack to dry, before wiping his hands on a dishtowel and turning to face Rachel again. "I know; I was just feeling a bit… trapped."

"Understandable."

He sighed, sitting down on the chair beside Rachel again. "I said some really horrible things to her, didn't I?"

"Kind of, yeah."

"I should apologize."

"Probably."

Luke sighed again, resigned to the fact that he would have to think of words to excuse the inexcusable things he had said earlier that day. It was hard. Generally, Luke was not a man who spoke his feelings well, especially not under pressure (and speaking to Lorelai was certainly pressure, especially if she was angry with him). After all, hadn't he asked Rachel to _marry _him instead of just telling her how he felt? Then again, actions spoke volumes… maybe if he did something for Lorelai, he could show her that he was sorry, and perhaps, it would even help to ease the awkwardness of the whole apology process. _That could work… _Now all he needed was a plan. He groaned inwardly. _Easier said than done._

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai yelped as she lost her balance, gripping the banister just in time to keep herself from flying down the stairs. After pausing for a moment to catch her breath, Lorelai continued down the steps and ran straight into the kitchen. She thenpounded on Rory's door as she bellowed, "C'mon, Rory, you're gonna be late!" 

"One second!"

"Hey, I can wait all day. You're the one who signed up for summer classes. Which, by the way, is crazy, if you ask me."

Rory opened the door and fixed her mother with a piecing stare. "That's why no one asked you. Okay, I'm ready. Can we go?"

"Umm… yep!"

"What was that hesitation?"

"What hesitation?"

"The 'umm.'"

"I didn't say 'umm.' I said… 'uhhm.'"

"You know what? I don't have time to figure this out so let's just go. Luke's?"

"Weston's?"

"Mom…"

"Rory…" she admonished in a mimicking tone, before walking out of the kitchen.

"I'd argue," said Rory, following her mother's lead, "but my bus leaves in 20 minutes. Will you take a raincheck?"

"I'll be looking forward to it," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes as she did so.

The two of them arrived at that door and, just as Lorelai was about to open it, Rory yelled, "Shoot!"

"What is it?"

"I forgot to choose a bus book." Rory turned around and began to retreat to her bedroom. "I'll be right back."

"Ah, that's gonna take forever!" cried Lorelai, following her.

"Fine, then… go ahead of me, order for me, okay? The service there is always slower."

Lorelai sighed. "I don't want to go alone…"

"Then wait!" Rory called from her bedroom.

"Fine, I'll go! Stupid bus book," she muttered under her breath.

"Thanks, Mom!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Lorelai exhaled loudly as she once again headed toward the front door. This time, she opened it, stepping out onto the porch. She closed the door and stopped walking, leaning back against it instead. She really wanted to go to Luke's, but she couldn't. While she was beginning to accept that she had, in fact, been out of line for getting angry with Luke about his engagement, the things he had said to her during their argument had hurt. Sure, everyone knew she couldn't stay in a relationship for too long without running, but no one had ever, truly called her on it. Well, once Sookie almost did, accusing her of running from Max at the exact time she ran from every other man, but, for the most part, no one ever mentioned it. Of course, her mother would, every once in a while, throw in a sarcastic remark about her flightiness, but she didn't usually take the things her mother said to heart, and it was no different in this case. Normally, Lorelai would hate that people were walking on eggshells around her, but, when it came to her love life, she preferred it that way. She was insecure enough about everything, as it was; she didn't need other people's scorn to add to that.

Lorelai began to walk again, heading down the stairs and toward the Jeep absently. Just as she was going to open the car door, she heard heavy footsteps coming down the path toward her house. She whirled around, her heartbeat increasing as she noticed the familiar blue hat and flannel. Luke seemed just as startled to find her outside and, for a moment, they merely stared at each other. Finally, Luke looked away and cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had formed between them.

"I, uh, just came over to give you these." He held a white paper bag out toward her, looking anywhere but into her eyes.

She took the bag, but didn't open it. "Oh."

"There's coffee and donuts in there - one for you and one for Rory."

"Oh, well, thanks, but, well, I, uh, don't remember ordering delivery…"

Luke swallowed hard. "I know, but since you're mad at me, I knew… you weren't going to come to the diner and thought you might want something. I was gonna leave it at your door; I didn't think you'd be up so soon."

"Rory has to go to school for summer classes. Crazy girl; she never takes a break, that one. I seriously don't know where she got it from."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Umm…"

He took in a deep breath. "Well, enjoy the, uh, food. I should go."

"Oh yeah, diner to run and… stuff."

"Yeah…"

Luke turned to leave, but stopped when Lorelai called his name. "Thanks… for the coffee." She paused and they locked eyes. "And um, for not… I mean…"

He smiled. "You're welcome. And I'm sorry about..."

She shook her head, dismissing it."You sure you don't have a few minutes to hang out or something? We have iced tea and I won't make you fix anything this time, I promise."

"Nah, thanks for the offer. I have to get back… I left Rachel all alone at the diner."

She frowned. Hearing him mention Rachel made her heart suddenly sink. "Oh."

"You okay?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine! Go back – you're needed. I'll see ya around lunch time."

He nodded at her before smiling slightly. She watched him as he disappeared down the street, before taking a deep breath and heading into her house, clutching the bag to her chest with a slight grin.

* * *

**A/N: **_TBC soon. Ah, the wonders of spring break. :D At first, I considered drawing the fight out longer, but really, I could see little point in doing that. Instead, I've tried to make it obvious that, while they're not fighting, there's still tension there. Besides, I need them to be on speaking terms to further the plot. The fight was just a minor detour on a _very _rocky road. However, I had a lot of trouble ending this chapter – I think I ended up writing it four different ways, before settling on this. I hope it isn't disappointing, but I promise there are more exciting things to come (well, at least I feel they're more exciting)! Anyway, please review, if you'd like. Your feedback means a great deal to me and I promise I am taking all suggestions into consideration… while I already have a good portion of this series written, nothing is set in stone, aside from what has already been posted. (I also have a wonderful outline of the series that includes bullets like, "Rory/Sookie/Lorelai interaction: OMIGOSH, Luke still loves you, he gave you coffee, squee!11!" Obviously, I've changed the wording a little in the real thing, but there's a teaserof the next chapter for ya. :p) _

_To those who celebrate: have a wonderful Easter!_


	4. Lorelai the Saint

**Torn **_– Chapter 4_

_Lorelai the Saint_

That afternoon, Lorelai entered the inn's kitchen, and headed straight for the coffee pot, muttering the words, "need coffee," under her breath repeatedly. After taking a long gulp, Lorelai headed over to the other end of the kitchen, where Sookie was stirring a large pot of pasta while talking to Rory, who was sitting in the chair beside the oven. The two of them immediately stopped talking when Lorelai came over.

"Ugh, you guys would not _believe _what just happened. So, I was behind the desk, ignoring Michel's wining, as usual, when the Alberts – you know, the guests staying in room seven – asked if…" she trailed off, looking at Rory and Sookie suspiciously. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No," replied Sookie nervously. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, first of all, when I came in here, you two had your 'we're in the middle of gossiping so get the hell away till we finish' looks on your faces and Sookie, Hon, you're about to knock over that pot…"

"What? No," Sookie protested, "I was just –" However, she couldn't finish what she was about to say, because the large pot of pasta went tumbling as her hand came in contact with the handle. Sookie bit her lip and looked down at the mess by her feet meekly. "Oops."

Lorelai grabbed Sookie's forearm and pulled her away from the mess as two other chefs quickly began to mop up the pasta. Lorelai looked over at Rory, who was trying futilely to suppress a grin. Lorelai glared at her daughter and then at Sookie, before saying, "All right, what's going on here?"

"Nothing," replied Rory, now on the verge of laughing, as well.

"We were just chatting!"

Lorelai snorted. "Since when do you two _just chat _with those looks on your faces?"

"What looks?" asked Rory innocently. "Mom, I think you're beginning to see things."

"You know, I heard paranoia is one of the signs of aging…"

"Or insanity," Rory added.

"Thanks for that," Lorelai deadpanned. "Now, seriously, tell me who you're talking about!" She paused. "It's me, isn't it?"

"No way, Mom."

"Yeah, you're _way _off there. We're chatting about, uh…"

"Taylor!"

"Taylor?" repeated Lorelai skeptically. "And what about Taylor were you two supposedly sharing?"

Rory and Sookie exchanged desperate looks. "His new, umm…" Rory trailed off. "Okay, I give. We were talking about you."

"HA! I _knew _it! You can't get _anything _by me! I am Lorelai, the unbeatable; Lorelai, the unstoppable; Lorelai, the –"

Rory sighed. "This could go on for a while."

"Fine," Lorelai pouted. "I'm done."

"Thank God."

"All right, so what were saying about me?"

"Uh," began Sookie, "how beautiful you are?"

"Ha ha, nice try! While it's the truth, I know you were talking about something else! _Something_ you wouldn't want me to hear you say," she added suspiciously.

Rory turned to Sookie. "We should just tell her. She'll never give up otherwise."

"Yeah… okay, go ahead. Good luck, Chickadee!"

"Hey! Why do I have to tell her?"

"Because you –"

"Ah! Someone tell me, I don't care who!"

"She's going mad not knowing," Rory told Sookie.

"Yeah, I know… can't you see the vein in her forehead?"

"Oh, you noticed that, too?"

Lorelai grabbed a wooden spoon from the counter and pointed it at Sookie and Rory. "If someone doesn't tell me what you were talking about this _minute_, things are gonna get _ugly_."

"Okay, okay, no need to get all Norman Bates on us, here, we'll tell you," coaxed Rory. "We were talking about _you_… and Luke."

"Ah," Lorelai replied quietly, the wooden spoon slipping, unnoticed, through her fingers.

"It was nice of him to bring you coffee and donuts," Sookie supplied.

"Argh, Rory, you have such a big mouth!" she exclaimed, recovering slightly from the anxiety that had arisen upon the original mentioning of Luke.

"Sorry, Mom, but Sookie would've found out anyway."

Lorelai placed her hands on her hips. "And why do you think that?"

"Because Sookie's your best friend – you would've told her. You tell her everything."

"Hmm, yeah, you're probably right. Well, I'm gonna get going."

"What?" cried Sookie. "You just put us through all that and now that we told you, you're leaving?"

"Uh, yes," replied Lorelai, a puzzled look on her face. "You told me who you were talking about, just like I asked; what else is there?"

"Well, aren't you going to ask what we were_ saying_?"

"No."

"Well, we were talking about how he's crazy about you," continued Sookie, ignoring Lorelai's response.

"Please. Don't go around saying things like that in this town – people may begin to believe it."

"They already believe it," Rory informed her.

"They all know."

"Yeah, yeah, they know about the _thing_ between the two of us, I got it."

Sookie and Rory exchanged exasperated looks. "Come on, Mom. Why would he walk all the way over to our place during the breakfast rush just to give us muffins and coffee?"

"_Because_… we are his best customers and he doesn't want to lose our business."

"Or because he loves you!" added Sookie.

Lorelai snorted. "Uh huh. Seriously, don't go around spreading things like this. Luke's engaged now. You have to respect that he has a reputation to hold up to."

"I know," Sookie replied sheepishly.

"You know what else we were discussing?" Rory asked, ignoring her mother's warning.

"Why do I have a feeling I don't want to know?"

"The way you kept smiling afterward… you're smitten."

"Smitten? Who says 'smitten' anymore? And I am _not _smitten with Luke," she added forcefully.

"Uh huh," said Rory, as both she and Sookie giggled.

"Stop!"

"You're smitten _and _you're jealous!"

"What?"

"Yeah," Sookie continued. "You're smitten with Luke and jealous of Rachel!"

"What?" she repeated, outraged. "You two are _crazy_!"

"Lorelai and Luuuke, sitting in the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Sookie sang in a high-pitched, mocking voice.

"First comes the _looooove_," Rory continued in the same tone, "Then comes the marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage..."

"That's not all, that's not all, the baby's… WEARING FLANNEL!"

With that, Sookie and Rory broke into a fit of hysterical laughter, holding onto each other as they practically wept. Lorelai, for her part, went quite pink in the face, and she glared at them for a minute, before yelling, "Okay, I'm leaving! I don't want this crazy to rub off on me!" Lorelai continued glaring at them, until she finally gave up, turning around and storming out of the kitchen in a huff.

As the laughter died down, Sookie turned to Rory and put her arm around the girl. "She is _so _smitten."

"Oh, believe me, I know."

"Poor Lorelai…"

"Yeah…"

With that, Sookie and Rory began to sing again, as Sookie put on a fresh pot of pasta for the dinner special.

* * *

That night, Lorelai entered the almost-empty diner, took a seat at a table by the window, and stared absently outside. Rory and Sookie were talking nonsense, weren't they? Luke only brought her donuts and coffee because he didn't want her to be mad at him. _He didn't want me to be mad because we're friends_, she decided. And what were they saying about her being smitten? She was not smitten with Luke! And jealous of Rachel? She couldn't possibly be jealous of Rachel if she wasn't smitten with Luke. No, Sookie and Rory were _way _off. As Lorelai continued contemplating the earlier conversation, Rachel approached her table and asked, "What'll you have?" startling Lorelai out of her reverie. 

"Ah. Oh, um, coffee. Lots of coffee. In fact, why don't you hold the water and just bring out the coffee grinds? That oughta do the trick faster, don't you think?"

Rachel laughed. "Anything else, aside from lots of coffee?"

"Hmm, pie would be good."

"Great, coming right up!" Rachel retreated behind the counter, quickly gathering Lorelai's food and bringing it over to her table. After setting the plate and cup in front of Lorelai, she frowned. "Hard day?"

"Yeah. More long than hard, though."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, I'll live." She smiled up at Rachel. "The coffee's help enough."

"Well, that's good." Rachel paused, about to turn away, before biting her lip and moving closer toward Lorelai's table. "Hey, if you're not too tired, do you think I could talk to you for a sec?"

Lorelai hesitated, before forcing herself to be friendly and say, "Sure, pull up a chair."

"Thanks," said Rachel, as she sat across from Lorelai. "All right, well, the thing is…" Rachel looked down at her hands as she placed them on the table. "I've been thinking about this wedding a bit and _wow_! There's a lot I need to think about."

"Every little girl's dream," she reminded Rachel.

"Yeah, well… when I was younger, I was too busy dreaming about getting away from here than planning out my wedding."

"Oh, believe me, I know the feeling. I was too busy planning ways to ruin the wedding my mother had planned for me to think about my own."

Rachel laughed. "Well, at least I'm not alone. Anyway, when this all started to get really crazy, I thought to myself: who do I know who knows anything about planning weddings? First, I thought of this woman who plans weddings in India, but I realized, wow – the phone bill would be massive. So then I realized that, well, _you _plan weddings… or, you know, the receptions, anyway. So, you must know a thing or two about them?"

"Yes, I am a fountain of knowledge. Feel free to use me," she replied, before taking a sip of coffee.

"Really?"

"Sure! Ask me anything... I can't promise I'll know the answers, but it can't hurt to ask."

"Wow, you're amazing! Do you think you could possibly look over some brochures with me? My eyes started bleeding around the 50th…"

"Of course, I love looking at brochures! If nothing else, they're great to mock."

"Oh, there's a lot of mock-worthy material, believe me."

"Great. So, when do you want to do this?"

"Well," Rachel began hesitantly, "I was thinking tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Wow, that's… soon."

"Yeah… well, we're actually gonna get married in two months, so I have to get a move-on."

"Oh… two months?" she repeated, shocked. "That doesn't leave a lot of time to, you know, order a toaster…" Off Rachel's confused look, Lorelai added, "For your wedding present."

"I know it's fast, but Luke wants to get it over and done with as quickly and painlessly as possible. I have to say, I agree with that."

"Yeah, so do I, but I'm not sure what kind of place you're going to find in two months… but I bet Pizza Hut'll take you on! You know, two-for-one type deal."

Rachel grimaced. "I'm doomed."

"Well, no, not exactly," Lorelai replied, carefully avoiding Rachel's eyes. "I mean, I might have an idea…"

"What's that?"

She paused, taking a deep, steadying breath. Was she really offering this? "Have it at the Independence Inn."

"What?"

"Yeah, I can get you guys in on short notice… you'll just have to work around our schedule. Plus, you know, I can get you a good deal."

"Oh, Lorelai, that's amazing! But I couldn't possibly –"

"Please, I'd love to help you out; on one condition, of course."

"What's that?"

"I don't have to buy you that toaster."

Rachel gaped at Lorelai for a few moments, before nervously laughing. Lorelai forced a smile onto her face, despite the fact that, inside, her mind was screaming. Why had she offered her inn? She had barely heard herself speaking until the words had come out, and, by then, it had been too late to take them back. On the one hand, it felt nice to offer. After all, she wasn't only doing this for Rachel – it was for Luke, too. And yet, she couldn't help but feel slightly perturbed by the fact that she was suddenly not only encouraging this marriage, but basically _making_ _it happen_. Well, there was nothing she could do now, except curse her kindness…

"If you're sure…"

"I am. Discuss with Luke and report back to me ASAP, okay?"

Rachel nodded. "Lorelai, I can't even begin to thank you…"

"Don't," she replied quietly, trying to hide her disappointment. "Just say yes."

"Well… okay, I'll run it by Luke."

"Okay, great. Well…" she paused awkwardly. "I'm gonna go. Wonder-Lorelai saves the world from evil again."

"Oh no," Rachel said as Lorelai began to fish in her wallet for some money. "Your pie and coffee's on me."

"Oh, um, you sure?"

"Yes! It's the least I could do."

"Well, hey, thanks. I should do nice things for you more often then."

"No need, you've already done so much for me."

"Rachel…"

"No, seriously. Thank you _so _much, Lorelai. I don't know where I'd be without you, but it sure as hell wouldn't been here."

Lorelai bit her lip, wishing for nothing but to leave the diner and forget that this whole exchange ever occurred. "Yeah... don't mention it."

* * *

When Luke entered his diner later that night, he was surprised to see that it was closed and there was no Rachel in sight. Puzzled, he headed up the stairs and slowly entered his apartment. He was surprised further when he found his apartment to be completely dark, aside from a few candles placed on various tabletops. In addition to the lighting, he heard some soft music playing in the background. After his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he saw Rachel sitting on the couch, reading a book. She apparently hadn't heard him enter. He approached her quietly, bending down so that his lips were close to her ear and said, "You know, you're gonna ruin your eyes reading in the dark like that." 

Rachel jumped and whirled around in her spot, almost knocking Luke over as she did so. "God, Luke, you scared me half to death!"

He laughed as she placed a hand over her chest, before sitting down next to her. "Sorry."

"Uh huh."

"So, what's all this?" he asked, gesturing around the room.

"Oh, I thought some ambiance to celebrate would be nice. I brought out some wine, too."

"To celebrate…?"

"Oh, I have some good news!"

"Yeah?"

"Okay, so remember how I was flipping out about the wedding and how I couldn't find a place to have it?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I found a place."

Luke sighed. "How much is it gonna cost me?"

"I'm so glad that's all you care about. _Men_."

"It's not."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Right. Anyway, it's around here, actually. You've been there before."

"Oh yeah? Where?"

"Uhh," Rachel paused, grimacing slightly. "The Independence Inn."

Luke quickly stood up and began to pace. "What?"

"Why not? It's beautiful there."

"It's expensive."

"We're getting a discount."

"It's still expensive."

"Luke."

"I don't want to have it there."

"Lorelai offered."

He paused. "Oh."

"If it makes you feel uncomfortable, we can have it somewhere else. I just don't know where else we could possibly get on such short notice…"

He sighed and sat down again, removing his baseball cap to run his hands through his hair. "It's weird, that's all."

"Why is it weird, Luke? I mean…" she hesitated, looking down at her book, a hint of sadness present in her voice, "if you don't have feelings for Lorelai, it shouldn't be weird."

"I _don't_ have feelings for Lorelai."

"Then what's weird?"

"I don't know," he replied quietly. He paused pensively for a moment, before sighing. "Okay, let's do it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Because I don't want you to feel uncomfortable at your wedding."

"I'm positive."

Rachel studied him carefully for a moment, before grinning brilliantly. She leaned over and kissed his lips softly, putting her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her. As Luke ran his hands softly up and down Rachel's back, he could not stop himself from thinking about Lorelai. Why had she offered to let them have their wedding at the inn? Before, a part of him had hoped that perhaps the reason she had originally reacted so badly to news of his engagement had been because she was jealous. _Well, I was obviously wrong about that. _If she had really been appalled by the idea of his marriage, she would have let him know, instead of offering to help them. After all, she was Lorelai; she didn't let things go easily. Luke sighed inwardly, cursing himself for having such thoughts, especially while Rachel was kissing down his neck and he was beginning to remove her shirt. Instead, he walked Rachel over to his bed while kissing her passionately, simultaneously trying in vain to clear all thoughts of Lorelai from his mind.

* * *

**A/N: **_TBC soon. Please read and review, thank you. :)_


	5. What about Lorelai?

**Torn **_– Chapter 5_

_What about Lorelai? _

Lorelai sat at the kitchen table, hunched over an open textbook, as she scribbled furiously into a spiral notebook. She looked up briefly when she heard the door to Rory's room open, smiling hastily as her daughter entered the kitchen, before brutally erasing the last thing she wrote in her notebook. Rory walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a can of soda, popping the top and smiling apologetically at her mother as she glared. Rory knew better than to purposely distract her mother when she was 'in the zone,' as Lorelai had so horrifyingly put it. Rory was just about to retreat to her bedroom when the phone rang. Lorelai's glare intensified as Rory jumped to answer the cordless phone on the second ring.

"Hello? Oh, hello, _Max_," Rory emphasized, to show Lorelai that the phone call distraction was for her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks," he replied. "And you?"

"Oh, same here."

"Good. How are your summer classes going?"

"They're great, although Shakespeare kind of loses something when you're not teaching it."

"Are you just saying that to suck up because you know you're going to have me again next year?"

Rory laughed. "Of course not!"

"Right," Max replied with mock incredulity. "So, is your mom around?"

"Mom? Oh, she's, um, well…" Rory glanced at Lorelai, who was completely engrossed in her textbook. "Well, she's kind of busy at the moment. Can she call you back?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess… it'll just take a minute."

Rory bit her lip, unsure of what to do in this situation. After all, it wasn't just anyone on the phone; it was her mother's _boyfriend_. "I don't know… she gets crabby if I distract her when she's in her zone."

"In her zone?"

Rory sighed. "The explanation involves a song and dance… trust me, you don't want to know."

"Okay," Max replied hesitantly. "Well, could you try to get her on the phone just this once? I promise if she gets mad, I'll take all the blame."

Rory sighed into the receiver, tilting her head to the side as she watched her mother. "Yeah, okay, I'll try. But I make no promises!"

"That's fine."

"Hang on one minute."

Rory covered the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand, before standing directly behind her mother and glancing over her shoulder.

"Looks like some interesting stuff you're studying there."

Lorelai merely grunted in response.

"Okay, trying a new tactic," Rory muttered under her breath. "Mom," she began forcefully, "Max is on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

"Tell him I'm busy."

"I did."

"Well, tell him again."

"Can't you just take a break?"

"No! Remember the zone? Do you need me to start singing and dancing again?"

"Dear God, no."

"Well, then…"

"Mom…" Lorelai sighed and glared at her daughter, before grabbing the phone from Rory's hands. "Hey, he's your boyfriend, not mine."

"Rory, how could you say that? How could you even _imply _such a thing?" Lorelai admonished, scandalized. "Oh my God, the mental pictures!"

"Ah! Why did you have to do that? I didn't mean it that way until… ugh! I need to go gauge my eyes out or… something!" Rory cried, before running into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

Lorelai grinned as she put the phone to her ear. _Sweet, sweet revenge. _"Hello?"

"Lorelai," he said, exhaling, "finally."

"Hey Max."

"Long time no speak."

"Oh, I know, I'm so sorry, Max – I've been really busy lately. I was gonna call you tomorrow, after diner with my parents."

"You don't even have ten minutes?"

"You know our conversations end up being _a lot _longer than ten minutes, even if we say they'll only be ten."

"Well, is that so bad?"

"Not for someone who has the month off from work, it isn't. However, not all of us are teachers with July teaching semesters – some of us have an inn full of summer tourists – who are, by far, the worst bunch of the year - summer semester at the college, and a kid to keep alive – not to mention a dire need for beauty sleep and large quantities of coffee."

"Fine," he conceded, "but it's been over a week since our last date which was, coincidentally enough, the last time we spoke. You're not trying to push me away again, are you?"

"No, of course not, Max!"

"Because that's what happened last time and I'm getting sick of talking to your answering machine. You kept saying you were busy and then –"

"Max, I'm not pushing you away, I promise. I really am busy, but I promise I'll call on Friday after dinner at my parents and we can talk for as long as you want. I'll even stock up on coffee."

"Lorelai…"

"Because, hello, how else will I stay awake? Not that you're not a great conversationalist – you're one of the best, no _the _best – but I mean, I can hardly walk without caffeine, let alone –"

"It's okay, Lorelai. How about I meet you for lunch tomorrow at the inn?"

"Oh, can't. Not taking a lunch break tomorrow."

"You're not?"

"No. I was just gonna grab something from kitchen at work," she replied cautiously.

"Oh."

"But hey – my schedule for this weekend isn't definite yet, but I'm pretty sure I can get off by seven on Saturday night. We can go out to dinner then."

Max let out a labored breath. "Yes, okay, let's do that."

"Good… I'll let you know for sure tomorrow night when I call you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Can I get back to studying?"

"Sure. What are you studying? Maybe I can help."

"Business Calc," she replied with a groan.

"Okay, maybe I can't."

She laughed. "Ugh, you're useless to me. I'll talk to you tomorrow night."

"Yeah, tomorrow night. Hey, Lorelai?"

"Hmm?"

"I miss you."

She paused, looking down at her books and smiling sadly. "I miss you, too."

She heard the click of the phone as he hung up, but she left the phone resting against her ear for a moment, before turning it off. She then dropped the phone onto her textbook and sighed, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes tightly.

She didn't know why she had been avoiding Max. Well, it wasn't even that she had been avoiding him, per se. Things really _were _hectic at the inn and her Business Calculus class was pretty intense. Still, she could have taken two hours off during the day to go to lunch with Max – Michel could certainly handle things for a while, even if he would complain incessantly about doing so. Yet, she _wanted _to work – it helped take her mind off Luke and Rachel's engagement, and especially the fact that the wedding would be at _her _inn. Not that she thought about it often – only sometimes. And she only thought about it because she was worried about her friend, hoping he wasn't making a hasty decision that could possibly ruin his life. _There's no other reason_, she told herself forcefully, before returning her attention to the math problem she had previously been working on. However, after a half-hearted attempt, she groaned, dismayed to find that she was out of zone.

* * *

_Luke was at his wedding. It didn't really look like a wedding, but rather, a bunch of people gathered in front of his diner. _'Huh, that's weird,' _he thought, looking down at himself. He was wearing his usual flannel and worn blue jeans. He didn't think Rachel would let him wear flannel to their wedding. Oh well, who was he to complain? Instead, he studied the crowd as they moved closer, and was shocked to see that they were all wearing black. _'Maybe this is a funeral,'_ he realized. But that didn't make sense. Besides, somehow, he just _knew_ it was his wedding, even though it didn't _seem _like a wedding. _

_Suddenly, the door to the diner opened and Rachel exited in a long, flowing wedding dress. She walked over to Luke, and, as he watched her, he couldn't help but notice that something was very strange about her demeanor, although he could not quite figure out what that something was. Still, she stood beside him and they both turned to Kirk, who was apparently the minister. "Jeeze," Luke muttered under his breath – he could never get a break in this town. Kirk looked strange, wearing a tuxedo and holding a handkerchief to his face. ''_Kirk's crying? Damn, this wedding's worse than I thought.'

"_Are you sure you want me to do this, Luke?" Kirk asked, in between sobs._

"_Yes, Kirk, I'm positive."_

"_But think of what you're throwing away!"_

"_I'm not throwing anything away, Kirk," he growled. _

"_But what about Lorelai?" he asked desperately. _

"_What _about_ Lorelai?" However, Kirk merely began to cry again in response. "Kirk? Kirk!" Nothing! Frustrated, Luke turned to Rachel to ask what they should do with a crying minister, but was shocked to see that she, too, was crying. Luke backed away a few steps, taking a desperate look at the crowd around him, only to find that they were all crying. "This is crazy!"_

_Luke realized that the group of sobbing onlookers was staring at something behind him. Anxiously, Luke turned around, and was surprised, yet again – this time, to see Lorelai. She was standing across the street, alone, also wearing a wedding dress. Luke blinked a few times, trying to make sense of everything, but nothing seemed to click. He turned back toward Rachel and saw that she, too, was staring at Lorelai, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Luke slowly crossed the street, periodically glancing at Rachel, who seemed to be unaware of his abandonment, despite the fact that she was staring in his direction. Once he reached Lorelai, he noticed with no small amount of frustration that she was crying, as well. _

"_What is this? Why is everyone crying?" He was desperate for answers, but Lorelai only continued to watch him and cry. "Are you okay? Why are you wearing a wedding dress?" _

"_But what about me?" _

_Luke was growing more frustrated by the moment. "What _about_ you?"_

_However, after he asked that, Lorelai disappeared into thin air. Instead, Luke found that he was merely staring at a brick wall. Frustrated, he whirled around to face the crowd, but they, too, had disappeared. In fact, the entire town seemed empty and eerily quiet. Yet, Luke could hear a faint voice all around him whispering, "But what about Lorelai?" over and over again. _

"I DON'T KNOW!" he finally yelled, waking with a start. Luke looked around frantically, his eyes adjusting rapidly to the intense darkness of his apartment. He sighed, realizing it was all a dream, before falling back against the pillows. He felt Rachel stir beside him and suddenly panicked – how much had she heard?

"What don't you know?" she murmured without opening her eyes.

"Nothing," he coaxed. "Sorry to wake you up. Go back to sleep."

Rachel muttered something unintelligible, before her breathing quickly evened out again. Luke closed his eyes, struggling to fall asleep again, but he was wide-awake now. Frustrated, Luke disentangled himself from the sheets and staggered blindly toward the window. He then pulled back the curtains, feeling a slight gust of summer air from the open window, before leaning his forehead against the cool glass.

_The dream means nothing_, he told himself forcefully. It was crazy to think the opposite! In fact, he knew exactly why he had that dream. The memory Lorelai's reaction to his engagement had been a sore spot with him for over a week now, and it was impossible for him not to think about it every once in a while. Therefore, his conscious thoughts had seeped into his subconscious thoughts, thus causing him to dream what he had dreamt. The dream was not a symbol of anything but his confusion about Lorelai's reaction to his wedding. He wasn't having second thoughts about getting married, _especially _not thoughts concerning his marriage, as related to Lorelai Gilmore. No, the two topics were completely separate issues. Well, the Lorelai topic could hardly be considered an issue anymore. She had agreed to host the wedding at the inn, so she was obviously fine with their engagement, which meant that there was no longer a problem.

_Okay,_ Luke coached. _Everything is fine. _Yet, Luke couldn't help but begin to think about his marriage. Sure, he had thought about the wedding a bit (mostly finances), but now he was thinking of the future, and his heart began to beat at an unnatural pace. This marriage thing was so sudden – was he really ready for it to happen? Sure, he had known Rachel for a long time and dated her for a good portion of that time, but quite a few years had passed between the last time she had left and the present. A lot of things changed in the approximately five years that they had spent apart, and less than a year back together was not going to change that fact. Maybe this was a bad idea; maybe they weren't ready.

Suddenly, Luke felt arms snake around his waist, startling him from his thoughts. He turned in Rachel's embrace, just barely making out the shape of her face in the darkness. Her hand smoothed its way down his t-shirt clad chest, as she leaned in and whispered, "Bad dream?"

He paused, hesitating. If he told her that he had a bad dream, he would have to admit what he had dreamt about. "Nah, just… couldn't sleep." It was better that he didn't tell her. The truth would just cause more trouble than it was worth.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she replied, stifling a yawn. "I can stay up with you, if you'd like."

"No, go back to sleep. I have plenty of stuff to do to keep myself busy."

"All right, but don't work too hard."

"I won't," he responded, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek before she sleepily stumbled back toward his bed.

Luke waited until he was sure she was safely secure beneath the blankets before looking out the window again. _Shit_, he thought, attempting to control his breathing. He was terrified.

* * *

Lorelai smiled at the O'Donnell family as they handed in their keys in order to check out of the inn. She dropped the keys into a box and then entered some information into the computer, before wishing them a 'good weekend,' telling them to 'stay with us again soon,' and watching them drag their luggage through the lobby and out the door. She sighed, picking up the phone and dialing the number of the plumber, and then let out a frustrated sigh when no one answered. After she got off the phone, another family – Lorelai cursed herself for forgetting their name – came up and asked for some Connecticut tour books. Lorelai walked around to the other end of the desk and began to show them the most interesting things to do in the area, when she heard a familiar voice call her name. Excusing herself for a moment, she turned around, giving Max a puzzled look as she approached him.

"Is it Saturday already?"

"It's nice to see you, too."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side, smiling slightly as she said, "Hi, Max – it's nice to see you."

"Thank you."

She leaned in for a quick kiss on the lips, before pulling back and fixing him with a curious stare. "So, what are you doing here?"

"What? I need an excuse to come visit my girlfriend?"

"Well, no, of course not. But you know I can't have lunch…"

"I know, I know. I just came to say hello."

Lorelai plastered a smile on her face. "Oh well, in that case hello!" After a moment's hesitation, she added, "And – uh, goodbye 'cos I have to, you know, work."

"You can't even stop for a cup of coffee?"

"Ah, don't tempt me!"

"Sorry, sorry," he replied with a smile that told her he was anything but sorry.

"Seriously Max," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "tomorrow night, I am all yours. However, right now, I need you to please let me work."

"Okay…"

She grabbed his hand. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay."

"Hey, you know, Sookie makes the best food on the east coast – although, if you're trying to compliment her, I'd suggest going for the best food in the world. And you know what? If you ask nicely, she may even give you some."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Oh yes, and if you mention how you're a… special friend of mine, you may even be able to get a meal for _free_."

"Wow, that does sound tempting."

Lorelai laughed. "I know it won't be as good without my company because, well, let's face it, what is?" Max chuckled and nodded in response. "But go on into the kitchen and pay Sookie a visit."

"All right."

"Great, I'll talk to you to tonight!" she replied, kissing him on the cheek, before hurrying back to the family with the Connecticut guidebook.

Max watched Lorelai interact with her guests for a few moments, before retreating through the swinging door of the kitchen. He paused when he entered, watching the kitchen staff as they rushed about the room purposely. Max hesitated, about to exit and tell Lorelai that he didn't want to disturb Sookie, when he heard her squeal before running over to him.

"Max, hi! Long time no see! How are you?"

"Hi Sookie," he replied with a grin. "I'm fine – can't complain. And yourself?"

"Oh, the same. Business is booming; it's great!"

'Yeah, I've heard it's been pretty hectic here."

"Oh, yeah. Lorelai is working _around the clock_. It's crazy; I've never seen her work so much before! I keep telling her to take a break, but, well, Lorelai doesn't usually listen to anything anyone tells her."

Max forced a smile and nodded. "I've noticed."

"So, can I get you some lunch? We're just about ready to start serving!"

"Lunch would be great, thank you _so _much."

"Not a problem. Is Lorelai gonna join?"

"Nah, she's busy."

Sookie shook her head. "Right. It was nice of you to stop by, though. I'm sure she appreciates it."

"Yeah…"

"So, why don't you go out into the dining room and I'll send one of the waiters to get your order ASAP?"

"Ah – I was hoping I could just grab something to-go. I'd rather not dine alone, you know…"

Sookie nodded. "Right, sure. Well, what can I get you then?"

"Uh, well," Max looked around the kitchen to see what they were preparing, "a salad and a chicken sandwich looks good."

"Great, coming right up!" Sookie began to putter around the kitchen and Max hesitantly followed her.

"So, um, Sookie?"

"Yeah?"

"I hear congratulations are in order."

Sookie paused, holding the salad tongs mid-air. "For who?"

Max chuckled. "For _you_."

"For me? Why are you congratulating me?"

"On your engagement."

Sookie laughed. "What are you talking about? My engagement to who?"

"To Jackson…"

"To Jackson?" she repeated blankly. "Did he tell you we're engaged? Oh my God, did he ask me and I didn't even realize? Shoot, I was supposed to _know _when that happened!"

"No, no… Lorelai told me."

"Lorelai told you?"

"Yeah, last week… she said that the two of you had gotten into an argument over your engagement, but I assumed that you've worked it out since she…" he trailed off nervously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Lorelai didn't fight with me," Sookie replied, laughing. "You're confusing me with Luke."

"Luke?"

"Yeah, the guy who owns the diner Lorelai always eats at. He got engaged and they argued about it for a little…" Off Max's confused look, she added, "Don't worry, they're okay now."

"Oh, well… good."

Sookie nodded and smiled, before closing a container with salad and handing it to him. Suddenly, she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as her eyes widened. "Did you… not know it was Luke she was fighting with?"

"Well…"

"She really told you it was me?"

"Yes."

"Oh gosh," Sookie breathed. "You know what, Max? It was me."

"What?"

"It was me… we were fighting about _my_ engagement."

"You _just _said that it wasn't you…"

"I know, I, uh, forgot," she finished lamely.

"You _forgot?_"

"I've had a lot on my mind."

Max studied her critically for a moment. "Okay."

"Okay, good. Um, here is your lunch. Enjoy!"

"Thanks," he replied slowly without taking his eyes off her, "I will."

"Bye!" she enthused with a forced grin.

"Bye," he muttered, giving her one last suspicious glance before walking out the door.

As soon as Max was out of view, the grin dissolved from Sookie's face. She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and muttered, "Oh no, oh no! What did I do now?" before running out the door.

* * *

**A/N: **_TBC soon. Please leave me a review, if you feel inclined to do so. Just as a warning: please be patient. This fic is only about ¼ the way done, so the hooking up of Luke and Lorelai, while inevitable (hence the Java Junkiness) needs to be developed more before it can occur. As always, thanks for the feedback and for reading. :) _


	6. No Wedding Plans

**Torn** – _Chapter 6_

_No Wedding Plans_

**A/N: **_My favorite part about writing is how, often, as the writer, you have no control over where the words take you. Somehow, your hands move faster than your brain and you look down at the page and think 'My God, when did that happen?' However, sometimes, this same force backs you into a brick wall and you either have to abandon the words or think of a way to maneuver around the wall. Let me tell you, abandoning everything is much easier and often more appealing, especially when you're less than a month away from taking the AP Lit exam and your teacher assigns you at least three essays to write a week. To conclude, unfortunately, I gave into the writers' block. I had to step away from this particular piece for a while and re-group. I'm not 100 perfect better yet, but I'm a little less overwhelmed by schoolwork, and I feel I can give this piece a lot more time. I'm incredibly sorry for the delay. I hope some of you are still interested in reading this series. Thank you._

_

* * *

_

"Lorelai!" Sookie cried, stopping at the desk and panting. "Where have you been? I've been running around like crazy trying to find you!"

"Uh, I was upstairs checking out a plumbing problem in room twelve." Lorelai took in her friend's frantic disposition and suddenly felt panicked. "What's wrong? Is someone hurt?"

"What? Oh, no, no… nothing like that. I, well…" Sookie paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "You know how Max was here, right?"

"Uh… yeah. Oh God, did Miss Patty find him? I saw her lurking around here earlier… Poor thing!"

"No, no, it's not that either. It's just, _well_," she said in a frantic, high-pitched voice, "we were talking and he congratulated me and I asked him 'what for?' and he said on my engagement and I was all, 'oh, I'm not engaged!' and…" Sookie trailed off, as Lorelai struggled to keep up. "He said that he heard we had fought over my engagement and then, having no idea that you had _told _him that… because, well, obviously you told him that for a reason, except I don't know the reason, I, uh, I kind of told him that he was confusing me with…"

"With Luke," Lorelai breathed.

"Right. Oh God, Lorelai, I had _no _idea! I mean, I finally realized what had happened and I told him I had forgotten and it _was _me and he said okay, but I don't think he believed me… I'm _so _sorry."

Lorelai sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "It's not your fault; you didn't know."

"No, but I should've assumed."

"You should've assumed that I was gonna lie to my boyfriend?"

"Well…"

"No, Sook, _please _don't worry about this, okay? I'll get it sorted out."

Sookie nodded. "Remember, if you need anything…"

"I know where to find you." Lorelai smiled. "Thanks."

"Any time." Sookie was about to turn around and head back to the kitchen, but paused, regarding Lorelai curiously. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure?"

"Why didn't you just tell Max the truth?"

Lorelai sighed and looked down at the reservation book on the desk. She didn't want to talk about the situation, but she also felt that she owed an explanation to Sookie. It was not as if Sookie had _asked _to be put into any position where she felt she had to lie to save her best friend's relationship.

Slowly, Lorelai looked into Sookie's eyes and replied cautiously, "I don't really know. I mean, we were out to dinner and I was all thinking about my fight with Luke and not talking – _weird_, I know – and he asked what was wrong and I answered that I was fighting with a friend and when he naturally assumed it was you, well… it just seemed like an easy way out. I was afraid Max would get jealous or something and I _really _didn't want to get into another argument."

"Well, Max had no reason to _be _jealous of Luke, did he?"

"No!" she replied quickly. "I don't know, it's weird talking about people of the opposite sex on a date."

"But if Luke's just a friend…" Lorelai sighed loudly and looked away again. "Hey. Luke _is _your friend and if Max's your boyfriend, he's going to have to accept that, once in a while, you're gonna talk about Luke."

"Yeah…"

"You shouldn't feel the need to lie."

"I know."

Sookie studied Lorelai carefully. "Well, as long as you know…"

"I'll clear things up with Max."

"Okay, good."

Lorelai forced a smile at Sookie and, after examining her friend skeptically, Sookie retreated to the kitchen. As soon as she was out of view, Lorelai groaned and grabbed her purse from under the desk. She needed some coffee, _fast._

_

* * *

_

Lorelai hadn't even noticed that she had put her head onto the table, until she heard something bang against the tabletop. Startled, she sat up quickly, only to find that Luke was standing next to her, his fingers gripped tightly around the coffee pot that he had, moments ago, slammed down. Hastily, he filled her mug without protest. She frowned up at Luke slightly, but she was feeling too distracted to question his lack of coffee-bashing comments. She was worried about how Max was going to react to the whole situation. After all, he was bound to think she was hiding something about Luke, even though she wasn't really hiding anything. Was she? _No,_ she assured herself. She had just been trying to avoid any sort of tension in their relationship. _Little help that did_, she thought bitterly.

"What's wrong with you?" Luke practically barked at her.

"Your concern for me is touching," Lorelai replied dryly.

"Whatever."

"Well, nothing's wrong," she replied with forced politeness.

"Okay."

"What's wrong with _you_?" she countered.

"Nothing's wrong with me. Why would you think that?"

"Oh, you're right… I'm sorry, you were just being so pleasant that it actually seemed unpleasant."

"Uh huh." He gestured toward the counter with his thumb. "I'm gonna go."

"See ya," said Lorelai tightly.

He paused, momentarily studying her. Lorelai fixed him with a critical stare in return, and then shook her head, confused, as he walked away. He was acting even more grumpy than usual. However, she forced herself to focus on her Max situation again, although she made no progress whatsoever in the area. Instead, a light tap on the shoulder distracted her. She turned around and was surprised to see Rachel standing behind her, shuffling nervously in her spot.

"Hey Lorelai, could I borrow you for a sec?"

"Uhh… sure, what's up? You know, we should start going over details for your wedding soon," she added pensively.

"Yeah, definitely. But actually, that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?"

"Well," said Rachel, anxiously glancing around the diner, "I was hoping we could talk in private for a minute."

"Uhh… sure, I guess."

"Outside?"

"Umm, okay."

Lorelai studied Rachel carefully as she followed her out of the diner. Rachel continued to apprehensively look around the diner until they were outside. Even then, she continued to glance through the window periodically. When Rachel didn't speak, Lorelai allowed her gaze to follow Rachel's and frowned.

"What are we looking at?"

"Huh?" That comment seemed to snap Rachel out of her contemplative gaze and she cleared her throat uncomfortably before speaking again. "I was just… well…" She sighed. "I was just making sure Luke wasn't watching."

"Luke…?"

"He's been acting strangely these past few days and I _really _don't think he'd like it if he found out what I was about to ask you."

"Oh?" Suddenly, Lorelai felt nervous.

""Well, see… we haven't exactly discussed the details of the wedding, aside from it being held at your inn." Lorelai nodded. "We need to start planning, but, well, Luke's been in such a funk and I've been afraid to bring it up."

"You're gonna have to…"

"Yeah, I know. I will. Next time I see him." Lorelai nodded again, waiting impatiently for Rachel to get to the reason she asked Lorelai out there. "Well, okay, I'll make this quick since I have to get back to work and you have to…"

"Get back to my coffee," Lorelai supplied.

"Right. Well, I was hoping that maybe… tomorrow, if you're free… you could help me pick out a wedding dress." Off Lorelai's surprised look, she clarified, "It's just that I don't have any friends around here and, well it's not something I really wanna do alone, you know?"

Lorelai smiled slightly and without giving it much thought replied, "Of course I'll help you. After all, I love to shop."

"Great! Oh wow, that's great." She let out a sigh of relief. "I can't even begin to thank you for _everything_. I really want to repay you somehow."

Lorelai shook her head. "Don't mention it. We should really get back in there. You know, before Luke notices you slacking off and fires you."

Rachel nodded and laughed, before heading inside. After a moment, Lorelai followed suit, but, instead of returning to her table, she headed toward the counter where Luke was standing. He had moved on from refilling napkin dispensers to fixing his toaster that always seemed to be broken.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked innocently.

"Making a time machine."

"Wow, I never knew you were so versatile, Luke."

"Uh huh. More coffee?"

"Not yet, but I'll let you know."

"Great," he replied dryly, "I can't wait."

"I was just hoping that maybe you could come over some time and take a look at my sink?" she requested with an angelic smile. "The garbage disposal's not working again."

"God Lorelai," he replied angrily without looking up from the toaster, "what did you put in there this time?"

"Nothing!" she replied defensively. After a moment, she looked down at the counter and replied in a softer tone, "A spoon might've fallen down it…" Another moment went by before she added, "And then another four forks."

Luke groaned, finally looking up and locking eyes with her. She felt an unfamiliar tingling in the pit of her stomach, but she forced herself to stare back without distraction. "Maybe. If I get the time."

"Great, thank you, thank you!" she replied with a grin, before retreating to her table. After a moment, she looked back toward Luke, who had returned to struggling with his toaster. _He should really buy a new one_, she realized, yet she hoped it didn't. After all, she thought with a heavy heart, did _everything_ have to change?

* * *

Luke entered his apartment, groaning inwardly when he saw that the lights were still on. He had hoped Rachel had fallen asleep, but, of course, that was not the case. Although never one to be in a particularly good mood, Luke had been unusually cranky the past few days. Ever since that strange dream, he hadn't been able to get much sleep. From the moment his head would hit the pillow until he opened the diner the next morning, his thoughts consisted only of the _marriage _and how he might not be ready. However, he was reluctant to bring up the topic with Rachel. He didn't want her to get the wrong idea and think that he _definitely_ didn't want to get married. He was just confused. However, since he had no one to talk to and no way of knowing whether or not he was doing the right thing, he had to just keep on going ahead with the wedding, as planned. That anxiety of his was normal – it would eventually go away, right?

"Luke?" Rachel asked, emerging from the bathroom with her hands full of photos.

"Yep."

"Oh good. Diner's closed up?"

"Yes."

"Good, good."

Rachel kissed him on the cheek, before she placed the photos on the kitchen table. Luke began to flip through them idly. "Nice," he commented.

"Thanks. They're kind of boring. Hartford turned out to be a lot less photogenic than I'd anticipated."

"It's a corporate hellhole," he agreed.

"Yeah…" Rachel filled a glass with water and sipped it uncomfortably as Luke continued looking at her pictures. "Hey, Luke?"

Luke replaced the pictures onto the table and met her eyes, curious by her questioning tone. "Yeah?"

"Have you thought about the wedding at all?"

"Of course."

"I mean, aside from how much it's going to cost."

"Yeah," he replied carefully. "Why?"

"Well, I was just wondering… have you thought about who you want to invite? We have to get invitations out by the end of this week. It's already late, as is."

Luke shrugged. "Not really. I guess my sister, her kid, and whoever the hell it is she's dating now. Not that they'd show up," Luke added.

"You don't know that." Luke merely grunted in response. "Is that all?"

"I dunno, I'd invite my Uncle Louie and my cousins, but my cousins'll just make up some lame excuse not to be there, which is good, 'cos I don't want them there, and Louie's old and sick and, well, he's a real shithead anyway."

"I remember," she agreed with a chuckle. "So is that a yes or a no to the cousins and uncle?"

"Whatever; just invite them. Invite everyone in Stars Hollow. Invite the president, I don't really care."

"Luke…" she breathed. "What about a best man?"

"Again, the president's fine." He sighed. "Look, I'm not really good with this stuff."

"I know," she answered sympathetically, "but I need you to try. Think about it and get back to me tomorrow, okay?"

"All right."

He turned away angrily - as if he needed another thing on his mind. Instead of saying anything else, he headed toward his dresser to change out of his work clothes, when Rachel said, "We should meet with Lorelai soon about the wedding, you know." He merely grunted in response. "Speaking of which," she continued, forcing a smile onto her face, "I'm, uh, going shopping for a wedding dress tomorrow."

He stopped walking and turned to face her again. "That's nice."

"And, you know, I can't go alone…"

"Naturally."

"So I asked Lorelai to come with."

Luke's eyes left hers for a split second, before he replied, "Okay."

"I just thought you should know."

"Okay."

"It was nice of her to agree, don't you think?"

"Sure." Luke turned away again, this time to take off his flannel shirt. He was getting tired of the third-degree. He hoped she would get the picture, but apparently she didn't because she called for him again. He groaned and turned to face her, as he unzipped his jeans.

"So, I was thinking…"

"Great…"

"Luke." Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, I was thinking that maybe Lorelai should be my maid of honor."

"What?" Luke asked sharply.

"Luke, she has done _so _much for this wedding. I just thought it'd be nice…"

"Sure, it'd be nice, but –" he paused – "isn't that a job for someone you know _really_ well? Like a sister or a college roommate or something?"

"I don't have a sister _or _a college roommate," she reminded him.

"Yeah, well…" Luke struggled, as he stepped out of his pants, "something… not some woman you just met."

"I've known Lorelai for like five months now."

"Yeah, well, find someone you've known for five years!"

"Luke, what's _wrong _with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," he barked. "You're just being unreasonable!"

She let out a bitter laugh. "_I'm _being unreasonable? Look, Luke, you've been acting _so _weird for the past few days! You've barely said anything containing more than one syllable to me, not to mention that fact that you're scaring off your customers!"

"Nothing's wrong! I've just been busy and tired and I haven't been sleeping well, that's all!"

"I'm sorry," she answered genuinely. "I understand that things have been hard on you. They've been stressful for me, too. But if this wedding going to work -" She paused, studying him - "If it's going to work," she repeated, "we're going to need to talk about this stuff."

"Fine."

"So, tell me why I can't ask Lorelai to be my maid of honor and I won't ask. But I need a reason."

"It's just weirdokay? No, wait, it's weird, again! Isn't it enough that I'm letting you have our wedding at _her _inn!"

"But she's your friend, Luke."

"Exactly!"

"Would you rather she be your best man?"

"What? No, I'd rather she was _nothing_. Just a guest. Or not even a guest, she's running the damn thing! Just… let her do her job and don't distract her by giving her a million other jobs that she shouldn't even be doing in the first place because she's not really your friend!"

"What? Just because she's your friend means she can't be mine?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what is it, Luke? Do you have feelings for her?"

"God damnit, not this again, Rachel! We've had this conversation before and I told you I don't have feelings for Lorelai so just get it out of your head! I can't _believe _this! I - Jeez - I need to get out of here."

"Luke…"

However, Luke ignored Rachel's plea, and, instead, brushed past her, angrily slamming the door in his wake. Quickly, Rachel ran out of the apartment and yelled, "Luke, you're not wearing any pants!"

However, the jingle of the bells on top of the diner's door let her know that he had left, anyway. Sighing, Rachel returned to his apartment and collapsed on the bed, fighting back tears. That had not gone _at all_ according to plan.

* * *

**A/N: **_TBC soon, I hope. I'm just praying that inspiration stays this time. You know, reviews might be able to help that along… just a thought. ;) Thank you for being patient. _


	7. Jealousy at Large

**Torn **_– Chapter 7_

_Jealousy at Large _

**A/N: **_Hey, I updated; go me! Thanks to those who reviewed for the encouragement and especially for sticking with this, despite my hiatus. I got a few chapters under my belt since then, so I should be able to update steadily till the end of the school year (after which I'll have plenty of time to focus). Ok, if it's all right with you all, I'd like to take a moment to pimp myself out: I have a few other fics posted in my writing journal (the link's the website in my profile), in case you're interested in reading some of the fics I haven't posted here, for whatever reason. Just thought I'd put that out there. Anyway, please make my week and review; thanks!_

* * *

On Saturday, Lorelai and Rory sat in Luke's, eating lunch. Lorelai gazed at Luke and Rachel as they worked behind the counter, and Rory studied her mother curiously as she stuffed a french fry into her mouth. Lorelai began to tap her fingers against the table, cursing herself for agreeing to go wedding dress shopping with Rachel. She just kept getting sucked deeper and deeper into the wedding, despite her best efforts to stay as far away from it as humanly possible.

"Still worried about Max?" asked Rory, startling her mother from her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Are you still worried about Max? You seem a little distracted…"

"Yeah, I, uh… yeah," she sighed. However, inwardly, she was glad that Rory misinterpreted the source of her troubles.

"He didn't call?"

"No."

"And when you called…"

"No answer."

Rory frowned and patted her mother's hand reassuringly. "I'm sorry, but he'll come around. He's crazy about you."

"Yeah, thanks sweetie."

"So," began Rory, changing the topic, "do you need any help at the inn today?"

"Are you offering?"

"I… thought so." She paused. "Was that not clear?"

"Well, that's very sweet of you, but I'm fine. Go hang out with Dean or Lane, okay?"

"Okay, if you're sure… I just figured since you've been so busy lately –"

Lorelai shrugged. "I have been, but I'm not gonna have you go in and work when I won't even be there."

"You're not going back?"

"I will in a few hours. I'm taking the afternoon off."

"Oh, finally! You totally deserve a break, Mom."

Lorelai grinned at Rory. "My boss agrees."

"Good. I would hate to think of the bills for the shrink if she hadn't." Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Rory before taking a bite of her hamburger. "So, what are your big plans for your time off?"

"Oh, I'm going shopping."

"Always a great way to spend a work-free afternoon," Rory replied.

"Totally."

"You going to the mall?"

"No, actually, I'm going to Adrienne's Bridal Shop in Waterbury," replied Lorelai as Rory almost choked on her food. "What?"

"I'm sorry, I just didn't know you were getting married."

"I'm not," replied Lorelai casually as she took a sip of her coffee. "It's for Rachel."

"For Rachel?"

"Yeah, you know, Luke's fiancée."

"Yes, I've heard of her before," Rory deadpanned. "_Why _are you taking her dress shopping?"

"Because she asked," replied Lorelai with a shrug.

"Okay."

Off Rory's strange look, Lorelai asked, "What?"

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing! What is it that you're thinking in that overactive brain of yours?"

"Well, I'm just thinking it's a little strange."

"What is?"

"Dress shopping with Rachel."

"What's weird about it? I mean, she doesn't know many people around besides me, and wedding dress shopping isn't exactly something you do alone…"

"Yeah, but it's _Rachel_… Luke's _fiancée_," Rory clarified.

"Oh my God, _that's _who she is? No wonder she kept giving me strange looks when I asked her if Hugh Grant was any good in bed."

Rory shook her head. "I _so_ don't wanna know how we got there."

Lorelai merely smirked in response.

"It's just," Rory continued, "you've done a lot for the two of them over the past few weeks. I mean, getting them the inn for their wedding on such short notice and for the price you did… that's a lot, in itself. But now taking off the _entire_ afternoon when you have been frantically working for the past week and a half to take Rachel wedding dress shopping? That's well beyond the call of caring citizen and moving into Spiderman territory."

"What are you _talking _about?"

Rory shrugged. "It just seems like you're playing superhero."

"I am _not_ playing superhero!" Lorelai replied indignantly. "I'm just supporting my friend, that's all!"

"And who's your friend in this picture – Rachel or Luke?"

Lorelai furrowed her brow. "Both."

Rory snorted. "Yeah right. I know your fake smile when I see it… and lately, it's been directed toward Rachel _a lot_."

Lorelai huffed. "You know me too well." She paused and took another sip of coffee. "I just want him to be happy."

"I know."

"Well, I can't see any other way. I know it's weird to go dress shopping with someone I barely know and makes me want to throw myself off a bridge, but… I'm out of ideas."

"Maybe there's a reason you hate her so much?"

"I don't _hate _her."

"Fine, dislike her."

"I don't dislike her, either."

"Well, whatever you call it, the reason is you're jealous of her."

"Again with this? I am _not _jealous!" she exclaimed in a scandalized tone.

"Uh huh."

"I'm not."

"Sure."

"I'm not!"

"Fine, you're not."

"Exactly." Lorelai paused with a scowl on her face. "You just said that to get me to shut up, didn't you?"

Rory groaned. "Okay, I'm gonna go before this gets to be a repeat of _The Odd Couple_."

"Oh, that makes me Oscar!"

Rory sighed. "Bye, Mom."

"Uh huh, you're just jealous 'cos Felix is the prude."

"The prude? What are you talking about? At least Felix isn't a slob!"

"Uh huh."

"Oh God, don't suck me into this. I am leaving _now_."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Bye sweetie."

Lorelai watched Rory walk out the diner and down the street, until she could no longer see her daughter's figure through the window, as she finished off the last of her cup of coffee. Then, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and counted to ten before exhaling, before walking over to the counter, where Rachel was working. She leaned across the counter and caught Rachel's eye.

"Hey, ready to go?"

Rachel wiped her hands on her apron. "Yup, let me just get my purse and let Luke know I'm leaving."

Lorelai nodded and slumped down onto a stool at the counter, waiting anxiously for their excursion to begin. After all, the  
sooner it began, the sooner it would end. She let out a low groan. It was clear that she was crazy for agreeing to this.

* * *

Luke banged his head on the inside of the cabinet as he heard the distant sound of a door opening in Lorelai's house. Thinking it was Lorelai or Rory, he continued to work on the broken garbage disposal that Lorelai had asked him to fix, rubbing one hand against his now bruised head. However, he paused when he heard a man call, "Lorelai?" and then footsteps heading toward the kitchen. Before Luke could get his head out of the cabinet, the footsteps ceased. Luke rose, aware of someone else's presence in the kitchen, before turning around. He groaned inwardly when he noticed it was Lorelai's boyfriend. Luke didn't know quite what it was about that man that annoyed him so much, but Luke was already in a bad enough mood as it was – he really didn't want to deal with this guy now.

"Hello – it's Luke, right?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, and you're…"

"Max Medina."

"Max, right. Hey." Luke wiped his dirty hands on his jeans before saying, "I'd shake your hand, but, ya know, they're kinda dirty."

Max cringed. "That's all right."

Luke nodded and, after a minute of staring at Max in silence, turned around to search through his toolbox.

"Is Lorelai here?" asked Max, looking around the room.

"Nah."

"Where is she?"

Luke shrugged.

"Does she know you're here?"

"No."

Max scowled, placing his hands on his hips. "Then how the hell did you get in?"

"Using the spare key."

"You know where the spare key is?" asked Max, unsuccessfully trying to hide his surprise.

"Yeah… it's under the ceramic turtle outside."

"She told you this?"

"In passing, yeah. Wait, you didn't know about the turtle?"

"Well…"

"That's odd…" said Luke, unsuccessfully hiding a smirk, "everyone knows about the ceramic turtle."

"Well, obviously not _everyone_," Max muttered.

"Uh huh," Luke responded with an eye roll. "I'm gonna get back to work."

Luke bent down and was about to examine the garbage disposal further when Max called his name. He groaned inwardly before standing up once again to face Max.

"What are you doing?"

"Dancing the tango, obviously," replied Luke dryly.

"Did Lorelai ask you to fix her sink?"

"Yeah."

"Do you fix things for her a lot?"

Luke shrugged. "I guess. Depends what your definition of a lot is. Why?"

"No reason… I was just curious." Max paused, glaring at Luke. "So, let me get this straight: if I should walk into Lorelai's house at any given point in time - day or night - and see you in here, I should just assume you're fixing something?"

"Probably," Luke answered carefully, weary of the angry look Max was giving him.

"And," he continued, "I should expect this on a semi-regular basis?"

"I guess – whenever Lorelai needs help."

"I see." He paused. "You know, maybe it would be safer if she actually hired someone – you know, someone more _experienced _– to do her handiwork. Maybe then you wouldn't have to come over so often to fix things because they would actually get fixed, instead of… oh, I don't know, tinkered with, or whatever you're doing."

"I don't tinker," Luke replied sternly.

"Oh, excuse me, then."

Luke cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Did you come here to ask me questions about spare keys and my repairs or is there an alternative reason for your presence?"

"I just came to talk to Lorelai about some things and, you know, check that Lorelai and I are still on for our _date_ tonight, but I guess I'll just call her. Unless, of course, you think you'll see her first and would rather give her the message," he spat.

Luke sighed. "Okay, I can see you don't want me here, so I'll just go."

"What? Why wouldn't I want you here?"

"I don't know, but you don't."

"Please, Luke. This isn't my house, is it?"

"No, it's not," Luke agreed, his frustration with the man growing by the moment.

"Well then, don't let me stop you and you're… _repairs_."

Luke balled his hands into fists as he took a step closer to Max. The combined force of his wedding apprehension and his anger toward Max's mannerisms was almost too much to control. However, after a moment of glaring and gyrating his teeth, Luke exhaled a shaky breath and stepped back. "It was nice to see you again, _Max._"

With that, Luke turned back and crouched in front of the sink, beginning to work once again. With one last suspicious glance at Luke, Max turned on his heel and left the house, slamming the door in his wake. Once he was gone, Luke leaned back on his heels and slammed down his screwdriver, leaving an angry black mark on the kitchen floor. "Damn it," he muttered, before searching for cleaning supplies.

* * *

Rachel stepped out of the dressing room and Lorelai, who had been studying a rack of wedding dresses, turned around to look at her.

"Oh my God, take it off!" she exclaimed, horrified.

Rachel laughed and looked down at herself. "Yeah, I thought the ruffles were a bit much…"

"Oh my God," Lorelai repeated. "It looks worse than something my grandmother would give me."

"Okay, I'm thinking I should get out of this…"

"Good idea."

"Back to the drawing board?"

"Hmm…" said Lorelai thoughtfully, pulling a dress off the rack she had been searching through just moments ago, "try this one."

"Thanks," Rachel replied, taking the dress from Lorelai. As she changed, she called from behind the stall, "Hey, Lorelai?"

"Yep?"

"I just wanted to thank you again…"

"Ah, please, I told you - no need."

"Right," Rachel replied, with a laugh. "Okay, I'm coming out. What is this - dress number eighteen?"

"Something like that. Hold on, let me prepare myself to be blown away," Lorelai replied with a sarcastic grin. However, as Rachel walked out of the dressing room stall, the grin immediately left Lorelai's face and was replaced by a sinking feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. The dress was perfect.

"That bad?" asked Rachel, wrongfully interpreting the look on Lorelai's face.

"What?" asked Lorelai, quickly snapping back to reality. "No, no… just the opposite! It's just – I mean…" Lorelai sighed. "It looks amazing," she finally conceded.

"Really?" asked Rachel, studying herself carefully in the mirror. "Do you think I should try on a few more just in case –?"

"No. This is _the _dress… I wouldn't lie. Believe me, I'm the last person in the world you'd have to worry about lying when it comes to clothing." She moved forward and zipped the dress up, before standing back and allowing Rachel to re-examine herself.

"You really think I should get it?"

Lorelai nodded with forced enthusiasm, biting her lip as she did so. "It's the perfect dress for… the future Mrs. Danes."

Rachel grinned at her, before turning toward the mirror once more, smoothing her hands down the dress. Slowly, the smile disappeared from her face and she turned to Lorelai with a slight frown. "I don't think Luke'll even care."

"What do mean? Of course he will!"

Rachel shook her head. "He's been so weird lately. Like, last night… I tried to get him to think about wedding stuff and he flipped out on me."

"Flipped out? About what?"

"Everything! He doesn't want to think about who to invite or a best man or anything! I was kind of under the impression that, well," she admitted hesitantly, "he didn't even want to get married."

Lorelai gaped at Rachel for a few stunned moments before replying, "I… don't believe that. He's probably just a little overwhelmed. He'll, you know, come around."

"He stormed out of the apartment in his underwear."

Lorelai gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "I thought Miss Patty was kidding about that!"

Rachel shook her head gravely. "He came back really early this morning and hasn't spoken to me since."

"I did notice he was acting a little strange yesterday, but wow, that _really _doesn't sound like Luke…"

"No, it's not Luke. I don't know what to do," Rachel replied, her fingers absently playing with the price tag hanging from the dress. "Maybe he doesn't want to marry me."

"No, that's not it. He wants to marry you." Rachel shrugged. "Just give him some time to get everything sorted in his mind, okay? You know how Luke gets sometimes… he doesn't really talk to anyone or let his feelings get out in any way. Let him yell at Taylor for a little while and maybe that'll help relieve some of the tension."

"Well… maybe you're right."

"I am right," Lorelai replied forcefully, although, inwardly, she felt a bit less sure. "Let's buy this dress before I collapse, okay?"

Rachel nodded and smiled at Lorelai. "Th –"

"No! Don't say it!"

Rachel laughed as Lorelai unzipped the dress for her. "Right, I won't say it again."

"Good."

* * *

**A/N: **_TBC…_


End file.
